Falling into the past to before it all started
by CherryblossomFire21
Summary: This was not how it was supposed to be! All I wanted to do was go home and stock up on supplies but noo! I got pushed into the well which was acting up by the way, by Kikyo! Now I am staring at Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru's dad! Did I mention that he was the single most gorgeous male I have ever seen! Well he is! And now my past adventures center around him! Sequel now up!
1. Chapter 1

I keep having all of these awesome story ideas so I have another story that I want to post while I am waiting for my beta to get back to me with my latest chapter for TFBH! This is another Kag/Touga pairing, and it is also a time travel fic! Anyways let's get started! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Kagome swiped the sweat from her brow and turned to Kaede who was busy gathering herbs beside her. It had been three years since she had come to the feudal era and they still had not completed their journey. Naraku had been scarce as of late so she had taken advantage of the break in battle to get back to honing her miko powers. In the last three years she had trained every spare moment with Miroku, and Kaede and she was now proficient with her powers. At first it had been hard because her powers had been sealed by something, but through constant training and practice she had worn down the seal until it had finally snapped releasing the full extent of her power. After that she had progressed quickly in her training. In fact she had been asked by Kaede to become the High Miko after she passed. The thought of Kaede passing made her heart ache, but she was happy that the older woman trusted in her abilities when Inuyasha had put them down for so long. "You can go back inside Kaede, I will finish up."

Kaede looked at her gratefully and nodded. "Aye thank ye child. It be much too hot out here on this day. When ye finish I will have some stew ready for ye to eat." The elder smiled before standing and walking to the door of her hut. "Oh Kagome were ye going to return home to gather supplies today?"

She perked up instantly and hurriedly finished her herb gathering. "Yes I had forgotten about that! I should hurry and get that taken care of." She stood and hefted the large basket of herbs into her arms before she wandered into Kaede's hut and deposited them near the fire.

Kaede trailed after her and sat down to begin sorting them. "Ye should get going so that ye do not have to linger there. Lest Inuyasha get thrown into a tizzy about your absense."

She chuckled at the mental image Kaede painted for her. Inuyasha certainly would throw a fit if she were gone too long. "Yes he would." Bending down she retrieved her bow and quiver along with her empty black backpack. Everything she needed in hand she turned and headed out towards the well. She headed onto the well worn path towards the well senses trained on the surrounding area for any hostile youkai. In the last three years her abilities had progressed to the point that she did not have to rely on her friends to protect her. She could cast powerful barriers, purify demons with her bare hands, cast various spells, reflect curses, and various other things. Three years in and already she was on the same level as Kikyo not that Inuyasha would admit it. At that moment she came upon the clearing where the Bone Eater's well sat and she paused. The well was pulsing in an odd manner, blue sparks drawing her to the edge to peer down into it. It almost looked as though small bolts of lightning were shooting about in the darkness of the wells depths. Her brows furrowed and she went to step back from the well. It was not safe to use it at this moment she was sure of it so she was not going to chance it. Well that was the plan but fate had other plans for her in the form of something crashing into her back and tossing her into the well. She turned startled blue eyes and caught sight of red and white. Blue eyes locked onto brown and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Kikyo had pushed her! The look in the undead miko's eyes was sad, yet determined. That was the last thing she saw before the darkness enveloped her.

* * *

When she came to she was laying at the bottom of the well. She sat up and rubbed her head with her hand. "Ohh what happened to me?" Peering around the well she grimaced before she stood and started climbing up the vines on the side of the well. As she ascended the well she thought back to how she had been pushed down the well. At least it looked as though it had not accepted her into the time slip, or she would be looking up at the well house roof. She breached the lip of the well and swung a leg over it to hop onto the ground. "Inuyasha is going to throw a fit when I tell him what Kikyo did... Maybe I should not say anything." As she started off towards the village she noticed several differences such as the lack of a path that should have been there. She furrowed her brows and continued on until she breached the village and when she did she froze in shock. There was no village! Her jaw dropped and she stumbled back nearly tripping over her red hakamas. "What the hell is happening? Where is the village?" Of all the things that could have happened in her life she would never have expected this to happen! So she had only one choice, turn back around and jump through the well to where the world made sense. "Sounds like a good idea to me!" She turned and scrambled back the way she came. Tearing through the trees and stumbling over tree roots she made her way back to the well and nearly sobbed in relief when she burst back into the clearing. She shot towawrds the well and vaulted over the side and into the depths. Her feet hit the ground with a jarring impact and she winced. "OW!" She cried and flopped onto her butt so that she could rub her sore ankles. It was while she was in the midst of doing this that another prescence made itself known.

"Is there a reason that you jumped into an empty well miko?" A deep masculine voice rumbled with concern, and amusement.

She stiffened and slowly looked up to rove her eyes over her new companion. The first thing she took note of were the rich gold eyes, and the long silver hair that was held up in a high pony tail. His face was masculine, yet refined with a dark blue stripe on each cheek. She jolted when she connected all of the pieces.

"OH MY GODS! HE'S INUYASHA'S DAD!" She screamed internally before she slammed her eyes shut and counted to ten. When she opened them he was still there peering down at her and she actually whimpered.

"How long were you there?"

"Since before you first climbed out of the well. How did you get in there in the first place?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

Squealing internally at how cute he looked like that she nearly forgot that he had asked her a question. "Oh I am not sure... I was pushed and that's the last thing I remember." She looked around and grimaced at the dirt clinging to her. "Could you uh help me get out of here? I need to bathe." Her eyes locked with his gold ones and she put on her best pleading look.

He chuckled and leapt deftly over the edge to land next to her. "What kind of male would I be to leave a beautiful female at the bottom of some dank well?"

She eeped when he lifted her into his arms and leapt from the well in a fluid practiced movement. There was no jarring impact when he landed on the ground and she had to peek to make sure that they had landed. "It must be convenient to be able to move like that." She mused peering up at his face.

"Perhaps. Can you stand?"

"Uh I think so." Internally she was berating herself for doing something so stupid. But that being said it wasn't the first time that she had hurt herself jumping into the well. The last time being when Inuyasha had sealed the well and she had repeatedly tried to get back through it. She hadn't been able to walk then. He lowered her to her feet and she hissed slightly when her ankles jarred with the weight. A strong arm steadied her until she was able to stand properly. "Um thank you for the help."

"It was no problem. Now where are you from... I never got your name. Mine is Touga."

She looked up from her feet and she had to crane her neck to peer at his face. Damn he was tall she barely came up to the top of his chest. "Uh Kagome... My name is Kagome." She stammered a blush coming to her cheeks. And he was hot too... He was like the perfect combination of Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru... Two hotties combined into one made for one mega hottie!

"Kagome." He smirked one of his fangs showing. "Well Kagome where shall I take you?"

His question brought up her current dilema. The well would not let her through... She had nowhere to go that was familiar to her. So the question was what should she do now? Meeting his gaze she decided to be truthful. "I don't have anywhere to go..."

His brows furrowed and he stared at her sympathetically. "Was your village destroyed?"

"Not exactly..." She sighed and shifted her feet nervously despite the pain in her ankles. Should she tell him? Maybe he would be able to help her get back home. "Have you ever sensed any magic from the bone eater's well?"

He peered over his shoulder and gazed at the well through narrow thoughtful eyes. "Yes I have. The bodies of powerful mikos were cast into its depths, along with the bodies of many youkai. It is always alight with magic. Why do you ask?" He finally turned back to peer at her.

"Well you see... I don't come from this time..." She scrunched her eyes shut and waited for him to either laugh at her, or kill her for being mad. But when none of that happened she slowly cracked her eyes open and looked up at him.  
He looked thoughtful and not at all surprised as she expected him to be. "So you traveled through time? Through the bone eater's well?"

"I know that it sounds crazy but I swear it's the truth! I was traveling from the 20th century, back to the 15th century Sengoku Jidai. But something happened and I was sent back to... what year is this?" She asked feeling stupid for not asking sooner.

"It is the year 1213."

Great so she had been sucked back almost 300 years farther... "I see... Well I was traveling back and forth between my era, and the Sengoku Jidai in order to fight a hanyou that was collecting shards of the Shikon no tama in order to become an exceedingly powerful full youkai."

At this point he interupted her with a question that stumped her. "What is this Shikon no tama? I have never heard of it before."

She barely resisted the urge to pass out at the question. If he did not know then it was safe to say that Midoriko was most still alive, and had not yet created the shikon no tama. And if that was the case... Then she could find Midoriko and prevent her from battling the horde of demons alone. If she could preserve the miko's life then she could prevent the Shikon from ever existing. A throat clearing drew her attention back to the patiently waiting Daiyoukai. "Oh sorry I was thinking of something. Anyways the Shikon no tama is a small jewel that contains the soul of an extremely powerful miko, along with the souls of many youkai. It is said to gift great power to those who possess it and legends say that it can even grant wishes. Any youkai who possessed the completed Shikon would become so powerful that they would be nearly unbeatable."

"So they would use it to augment their own power like a bunch of cowards?" He sneered disdainfully at the thought.

"Yes! My companions and I were attempting to collect the shards of the jewel after it was shattered, so that the hanyou would not be able to complete it. But he was exceedingly difficult to find even with reiki. So the search was not going over as well as we had hoped. I was going to take the opportunity to return to my time and stock up on supplies when I noticed the well was emiting a strange kind of magic. And when I peered into it a miko named Kikyo pushed me into its depths. That is how I ended up here."

"I see... And the well will not accept you again." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two large clawed fingers. "Perhaps you should come and stay at my private shiro until we figure out a way to return you to your time."

"Private shiro? You mean the Western Shiro?" She asked shuddering at the thought of seeing Sesshomaru's cold countenance.

"No I mean my private shiro. I tend to stay away from the Western shiro as much as possible." A disdainful look morphed his normally handsome features. "Of course I must return from time to time in order to ensure that my heir is running things accordingly."

"So you are looking to pass it on to him soon?" She nearly cringed at the thought of Sesshomaru... Sure he was an ally of hers in the future but... He was still cold... Like he made the mountains in Algeria look warm, kind of cold.

"Yes I am though I am hesitant to do so at this point. His intolerance for humans is a concern that I have not been able to rectify. I blame it on his mother..."

"Well maybe that will change one day! There is always room to change and improve!" She clapped and gave him a cheerful smile. Only to stop dead at the scrutinizing look he was shooting her. "What?"

"Wait until you meet him." Was all he said before he pulled her into his arms and gathered his youki cloud beneath their feet.

Little did he know, she already had. And she knew that even Sesshomaru could change with a little help. She smiled at the thought of what Touga would think if he saw the Sesshomaru from the future. But he would not see it, because he would die in the next century. That thought saddened her and she quickly masked the scent before he caught onto it.

* * *

He watched her limp around the room her thigh length raven hair bouncing with each step. She had donned a simple pink kimono with cherry blossoms decorating it. Her bow sat against one wall the quiver resting at its base. A small tansu sat next to it with several small combs and ribbons littered across the surface. A good sized armoire sat on the wall kiddie corner to where the tansu was. A large platform futon sat in the middle of the room where he now sat waiting for her.

"You didn't have to give me such a nice room you know." She stated plopping down across from him.

He waved her off with a careless gesture of his hand before crossing his arms over his chestplate. "I rarely have company that I can stand Kagome. So it is no problem to give you a room closer to mine. That way whenever I wish to converse with you I can come to you easily." And with a quick once over of her countenance he decided that he rather enjoyed her appearance as well. She had long raven hair that pooled around her thighs, large bright eyes of the most unusual color for a human. Their dark blue depths were an open gateway into her soul, long black lashes ghosting over them with every sweep of her eyelids as they closed. Her face was shapely with delicate cheekbones and pink pouty lips. She was most definitely beautiful though she seemed not to know it.

"Well that makes sense..." She mused fidgeting nervously with her hands. "So was there something that you wanted to talk about? Or...?"

"What do you intend to do since you are trapped here?"

"Well I was thinking of preventing the Shikon no tama from being created. But to do that I need to find the miko who was responsible for its creation. She should be alive at this point in time... Either that or she will be born soon."

"Do you know of her name?" He kept a close tabs on any holy person in his domain for obvious reasons. So if this miko existed at this point in time, and she was as powerful as this girl claimed then he would know of her. Though as he brushed his aura against hers he doubted that there was a miko as powerful as this one.

"Her name is Midoriko."

The name did not sound at all familiar to him. "What do you know of her?"

"I know that she had the ability to purify the souls of demons... She was a master swordsman... or swordswoman... And I know that she had long dark hair..."

"There are no warrior mikos that I know of... Perhaps she has not yet been born."

Kagome huffed and buried her face into her hands before dragging them down exasperated. "Perhaps... If only I could ask my grandfather. He would surely know the answer..."

"Your grandfather? He still lives?" From what he knew humans did not live much past their fourties, and Kagome looked to be around twenty. That would put her grandfather around the age of fifty. Could humans live that long in her world?

"Oh yes he's still alive! He just turned seventy actually." She giggled and turned sparkling eyes full of mischief on him. "He always runs around throwing faulty ofuda at everything while he yells "youkai begone"! I swear he's getting worse every year."

He chuckled at her and his shoulders slumped in relaxation. "Humans live to be so old?"

"Yeah some even live to be in their hundreds. Our medicine is very advanced where I come from so things that are fatal here are only a nuisance where I come from."

"I wish I could see these things that you speak of." Of all the times for the well to act up... Not that he could travel through it in the first place.

"Yes I wish I could bring some... I have a feeling that I am going to need things that aren't available here in this time. Maybe at a later date we can return to the well and see if it will allow me passage to my home."

The thought of her leaving displeased him immensely so he would put it off for as long as he could. "Perhaps... Though there is much that you can busy yourself with here. Waiting for that miko to come into existence is one thing that you need to be present for. She will need your protection."

She snorted at that and flopped onto her back. "Me protect her? I was the most useless miko in existence until recently. Midoriki does not need my protection as she will be worlds more powerful than me. All I need to do is warn her not to walk the same path."

The self depracating tone of her voice nearly made him flinch. So this female had problems with self worth? What could have caused so much internal turmoil? "Why do you speak of yourself in such a way? And why do you doubt my words?"

"It's not that I doubt you! It's just that I'm nothing special. I discovered my reiki late in my life, and for the longest time it was faulty and would only come when I was under extreme duress. It had been sealed when I was born so I could only utilize a small fraction of my full power. After a lot of rigorous training I finally managed to break the seal and unleash more of my power. But my companion still saw me as useless and he was right. For all of the skills I learned I am still weak."

It seemed as though her companion had a detrimental effect on the little onna's mental state. Perhaps he should be the one to give her a lesson in reality. Standing to his feet he grabbed onto a startled Kagome dragging her to her feet, before he grabbed her weapon and dragged her out the open shoji door.

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"To the training grounds." He answered simply as he turned the corner to the training courtyard. Thankfully it was empty at this time of day so he did not have to worry about interference. He dragged her over to the archery range and sat her on her feet before thrusting the bow into her hands. "Shoot at the target and do not hold back."

She looked at him like he had lost his mind and opened her mouth to protest.

"Shoot the target and do not hold back." He ordered again cutting her off.

Sighing Kagome slipped an arrow from her quiver and notched it onto her bow before lining it up at her target. "Inus and their need to demand things... Making me embarrass myself..." She muttered darkly before she focused her reiki into the arrow and released it. Only to stumble back and drop flat on her ass when the arrow shot forward in a bright pink torrent that was easily twice as large as it used to be. It impacted the target and exploded taking half of the training grounds with it.

He whistled impressed with the display when the dust settled to reveal a massive crater in the ground. "Weak?" He mused while surveying the damage. When he looked back down at her she was gaping her jaw hanging off its hinges.

In a second she was flailing around squealing, and gasping like she had killed someone."Wha-Wha- I... Never happened like that before... Way brighter... Torrent was huge..." She muttered incoherently never ceasing in flailing about.

"Kagome?"

"The look on his face if he saw this!"

"Kagome."

"Don't understand this!"

"Kagome..."

"She did something! She had to have! There's no way!"

He sighed and proceeded to allow her to flail about stuttered phrases spilling out from her mouth here and there. The most repetative things beings, Inuyasha, Kikyo, and oh my gods. And he let her go on for several moments before he finally pinched her lips between his clawed fingers. "Kagome calm yourself."

She pushed his fingers aside and all but screamed in his face. "CALM DOWN?! DID YOU JUST TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?! DID YOU SEE THAT ARROW?! MY ARROWS HAVE NEVER BEEN THAT POWERFUL BEFORE EVEN AFTER I BROKE THE SEAL ON MY POWERS! AND YOU ARE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?! YOU CALM DOWN!"

He cringed and clamped a hand over her mouth to cease her screams. "Calm down. There must be a reason for this and panicking will not help us figure it out."

She nodded and pushed his hand away to fall to the side. "Ok... Do you have any ideas about that?!" She asked gesturing over to the crater she had created.

He glanced at it, and then her before sighing. Of course he had a theory and she was not going to like what he had to say. "Your soul was not complete before. If anything you possessed half of it at most."

"No I possessed most of it! Kikyo only possessed a small portion." She corrected him irritably.

"I am not following you."

"She was dead... and then some ogre witch brought her back to life through black magic... She was my incarnation and she stole a part of my soul to reanimate herself... And then I took most of it back... Do you follow me now?"

Rather then commenting on her attitude he pondered the words she had spoken. The situation she spoke of was not possible as even the undead needed a larger portion of their soul to remain animated. And Kagome would not have been able to draw her soul back from the original incarnation from a time that was closer to the original, then her. So the soul that the undead one took was not Kagome's soul, it was in fact her own. Kagome had merely scattered it so that the undead miko could not completely reabsorb her soul. She most likely had to steal dead souls to ensure that her soul remained tethered to her body. "She was obviously not your incarnation Kagome."

"Yes she was! I was in a near death state when she was reanimated! We could not exist at the same time until after I took my soul back!"

"If it were your soul you would have died instantly. Now I am not saying that you were not weakened by having a soul your body was carrying torn from you, but I am saying that it was not your soul. You merely wrenched her soul from her body and weakened her. But it did not come back to you did it?"

"Yes it did."

"No your soul did. Let me give you a little insight into the way black magic works Kagome. Souls are needed to bind other souls to reanimated bodies. Your soul was used to reanimate the miko's body and when you called it back she was weakened. I am guessing that she had to resort to stealing the souls of the dead to maintain her existence yes?"

"Well yes but I thought that it was because of the fact that I took our soul back..." She whispered realization finally dawning on her.

"No she needed to do that to supplement that soul that was used to bind her. Without it her soul would have departed from its body and crossed over. Without a strong soul to bind it, she had to resort to stealing masses of souls to supplement the missing element of the magic."

"So a small portion of my soul was used to bind her? And I drew it back into my body dispersing the magic?"

"Yes."

She slumped down and released a huge breath. "So I am not her reincarnation... So whose am I?"

And to that question he had no answer.

Ha I love this pairing so much that I have like a million story ideas! So I decided to post another one! R&R and let me know what you all think! SHould I continue or not?


	2. Chapter 2

So I got some good reviews for this story so I decided to keep it going. I am going to be working on this story, and TFBH for right now since I am having writer's block for my Min/Saku story, and Kagome's life as an Inu hanyou miko is too much like TFBH in terms of story line. So I am going to be focusing on these two stories for right now and I will get back to the other ones later. Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

"So what do you spend your time doing while you are here?" Kagome asked as she trailed along after the large Daiyoukai. It had been several days since she had been sucked into the past and she found herself spending almost every waking second with the Dai. Usually at his insistence much to her shock.

"I relax for the most part, but there are times when I must patrol my territory. I often have to fight troublesome youkai that are plaguing ningen villages too. My son would leave them to be destroyed due to his prejudice against ningens." The tone of his voice was displeased, his face mirroring the emotion with a deep scowl tilting at his lips.

"I see. Is there any reason for his hatred besides his mother?" She had always been curious about whether it was inherent to him, or something had triggered it.

"Not to my knowledge." He said turning another corner and leading her down another corridor.

"An inherent hatred for ningens... Sounds a lot like the way most ningens have a deep hatred for youkai at birth. It's so pointless..." She was so focused on her thoughts that she did not notice him stop walking until she had run into his chest. Stumbling back she blushed and hurriedly stammered an apology.

A strange glint was shining deep in his gold eyes and they were warm as he gazed upon her. "In all of my years I have rarely met anyone ningen, or youkai that shared the same ideal. It is very refreshing to say the least."

She looked down unable to keep eye contact with him when he was looking at her like that. No one had ever looked at her like that, not even Inuyasha. "Well I am not a hateful person and I never have been. Nor will I ever be. My best friend was is actually a hanyou, and I adopted a kitsune kit after his father was killed. We even traveled with a two tailed nekomanta named Kirara. I like youkai as well as I like any ningen unless they are murdering innocents. The same goes for ningens." She shifted nervously and peeked up at him the blush on her cheeks deepening.

His eyes were so warm as he looked at her, his features relaxed in contentedness. "I wish that you could stay here Kagome."

"What?" She squeaked not sure if he had really said that.

"Just what I said. I wish that you did not have to return to the other time. So few beings are like you and I that when we find each other we long to remain together. It saddens me that you will be leaving to return to your world."

Her heart started aching and she hurriedly clamped down on it. What was wrong with her? Was she really growing far too attached to Inuyasha's dad? Sure she had long since gotten over Inuyasha and she no longer desired him. But was she really going to start crushing on his dad? A male who was way out of her league? And why did she want to stay after she had finished her task? "I-I wish I could stay too." She clamped her hand over her mouth and cursed internally.

"Way to go Kagome! Now he's going to think you're crushing on him! Oh who am I kidding?! He's gods gift to women!" She groaned and slumped her shoulders in defeat.

All of that time he was still staring at her in bemusement. "You really are an endearing woman Kagome." A chuckle escaped his lips when she squeaked and shot wide blue eyes up lock with his.

"No! No I am not!" Oh gods now he's complimenting me! Could he be any different from Inuyasha? Bad Kagome bad! Don't even walk down this road or Inuyasha will bitch about it all through the afterlife too! Push bad thoughts away! And she did push everything away with a wide cheerful smile. "So uhhh do you want to try the well again? I have a theory after all."

He scowled and bristled slightly before nodding reluctantly. "If you wish."

* * *

He sat down at the edge of the well just before sunset that night and sat her down. Would she really be going away after he had just begun to feel something for her? In truth he had felt something since the first time he had seen her. Youkai did move fast after all. Inu youkai moved even faster once they had caught a female with an intriguing scent. And did this female smell good. Her scent was that of jasmine, and lilies. It had drawn him to the well where she was in the first place. He had not even tried to deny the urge as his beast was unrelenting in its pursuit. Even now as he watched her bouncing around the well, his beast was demanding that he stop her.

"Touga come here for a minute."

He complied and came to a stop next to her small form. "What do you need?"

She looked back up at him cheeks flushed and smiled nervously. "Well I don't really want to break my ankle or anything so could you jump into the well with me?"

His brows shot into his bangs. "What if the time slip takes me with you?"

She waved him off and peered into the well. "It won't. The only people that it accents are myself and one other. It had never worked for anyone else."

He nodded and wrapped an arm around her tiny waist before hefting her up. Once she was secure he braced himself and jumped into the well's depths. He had not expected anything to happen to him but when their surroundings lit up a vibrant blue and time, and space shifted around them he was shocked.

Kagome squeaked and clutched tighter to him. "Th-This wasn't supposed to happen!"

His feet touched solid ground and he peered up to see a wooden structure over them. "Where are we?"

"Oh no! What if Inuyasha comes through the well? What is my mom going to say?"

"Kagome?"

"It never worked like this before!"

"Kagome."

"I have to hide him in my room until we leave!"

He sighed and clasped a hand over her mouth to silence her. "Are you going to let me speak now?"

She pushed his hand away and squeaked out a "yes".

"Good. Now where are we? I thought that you said the time slip would not accept me." He peered at his surroundings for a moment before he jumped out of the well.

"It shouldn't have. It never accepted anyone but my protector, and I."

Well that certainly explained it to him at least. "Well I have been caring for you so perhaps the well accepted me for the same reason."

"Maybe." She sighed and slipped from his hold and walked to the door. "Ok so the air here is smelly... You should breathe through your mouth until we get into the house."

He snorted at that and followed her out of the well house. As soon as he set foot outside he immediately regretted not doing as she had said. The air was so putrid that it brought tears to his eyes. He hurried after her all the way to the large house where she was waiting for him.

"I told you so..." She sing songed before she swung the door open and called out. "Mama are you home?"

"I'm in the kitchen dear!" A female voice called from somewhere inside the house.

She turned to him with a warning look in her eyes. "Behave yourself okay? And if my grandpa throws sutras at you don't worry, they don't work at all."

He nodded and followed her as she trailed into the house, mirroring her movements as she stopped to take her shoes off. She led him down a small hallway and turned into a decent sized room that was filled with all kinds of contraptions that he was instantly curious about. And flashing around Kagome, and the startled woman who was gaping at him, he instantly began prodding at a small square device with two slots in the top of it. "What is this contraption?"

"Kagome who is this?"

"This is Touga the Inu no Taisho."

He turned away from the toaster and took in Kagome's mother. She was taller then her daughter, her hair was extremely short resting at the nape of her neck. It was a rich brown color that matched her eyes perfectly. She was beautiful, her face shape much like Kagome's. Standing up straight he bowed his head and gave her a warm smile. "It is a pleasure to meet the woman who raised my new companion."

"I'm Ai it's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled warmly back at him before she gestured for them to sit, and once they had she demanded to know what had happened in Kagome's absence.

So he listened while Kagome explained what had happened with the undead miko, and how she had come to be in his time. He caught the hesitance in her voice when she spoke of not being able to return to the Sengoku Jidai. And finally she explained that the well had surprisingly allowed him passage to their world. All through it Ai listened without muttering a single word until after Kagome had finished.

"So what about Inuyasha?"

Kagome froze and it was easy to see how that name affected her. "I don't know... I don't think the well will let him through anymore. If it would he would have been here."

Truth be told he was not best pleased at the whole undercurrent going on now that that other male had been mentioned. Did Kagome have feelings for him? "Who is Inuyasha?" He asked in a no nonsense tone.

Both females winced and turned wide eyes over his way. "He is my friend from the Sengoku Jidai. And at one time I was in love with him." Kagome answered hesitance clear in her voice.

"Used to be?" He echoed in confused pleasure.

"Yes used to be. I got over my feelings for him a long time ago." Kagome answered shooting her mother a look when she looked between the two of them oddly.

"Good. Now continue."

"Well anyways... I don't think the well will allow him through anymore. Though I don't understand why. And I don't understand why the well took me farther back in time in the first place. Kikyo had to have done something to alter the well's magic. Which means that I most likely will not be able to get back to the Sengoku Jidai."

"Well think about it like this Kagome, would the well keep allowing you passage where you were not meant to be? Or to where you were not welcome?" Ai asked thoughtfully. "Perhaps the gods recognized the mistake that was made and this was their way of dealing with it."

"Maybe but I don't know how... I don't know what I am supposed to do now. Midoriko is not born yet and I don't know when she will be. So how can I change things when I don't even know when, or where to find her?" Kagome huffed obviously frustrated with the whole ordeal.

"Grandpa would know the answers to your questions. But first let me ask you something Kagome. Do you think that Midoriko is really the answer? Do you really think that she is the solution to this new quest of yours? Or are you looking too far from where the real answer is?"

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline in surprise. This female was more perceptive than he had initially thought. "Yes I was wondering about that myself."

"Huh?" Kagome asked dumbly while she looked between the two.

Noting her daughter's confusion Ai laughed and shook her head before she stood to start dinner. "Wait until Gramps returns from his shogi night. You should have your answers then."

"Ok... Well I guess I will set up a place for Touga to sleep in my room. Umm and we will probably need to get some supplies for our journey. Well my journey... I'm not sure if he's going to be coming with me through all of it."

"Yes I will. Did I not say that I had taken over as your protector?" He growled low in his chest.

"Alright. Well come on and I will show you my room." Kagome stood and stretched the movement accentuating her curves. She beckoned him to follow her and she led him around a corner and up a flight of stairs. She stopped in front of a wooden door and gave him a warning look. "This is my room so please treat everything in it with kindness." And with that warning she wrenched the door open and led him into the small room.

He took in his surroundings with curious eyes. His eyes caught on the large futon in the corner of the room, then across from it was a desk that sat next to a window. Right next to that there was a wardrobe, and right next to the door there was another door. "What is this?" He pointed at the door before he opened it. There were all kinds of strange garments in it.

"It's a closet. Now get outta my closet nosey." Kagome giggled and dragged him from the contents of her closet by his pony tail. "Now since you are staying here for the night you can sleep on my futon while I sleep downstairs. I guess it's a good thing that my old bed broke because you wouldn't have been able to fit on it."

"It broke?" Kneeling down on the strangely comfortable futon he watched her flit around the room.

"Yes it broke. My friend made me angry so I kinda put him through the frame..." She scowled her cheeks heating up. "After that I decided to get a futon so that when it happened again I couldn't break my bed."

"Ah I see. So what do we do now?"

She plopped down onto a strange cushion thing that was suspended off of the ground. "Well my grandpa won't be back for a few hours... And Souta is probably at Hitomi's... So we could watch a movie."

No sooner had she finished talking then a shrill ringing sound filled his ears and he brought his large hands up to cover them and block the sound out. "What is that awful noise? Is it a demon?"

Kagome looked at him sympathetically before she started when her mother called up the stairs for her. "Yeah mom?"

"Eri's on the phone dear! Can you talk right now?"

"Yeah I'm coming!" She stood up and made her way over to the door. "I'll be right back! Feel free to read any of the books on the shelf right there."

He nodded and sat back to wait for her to return, ignoring the ache in himself at his lack of proximity to her. Never had a female captivated him so quickly before. She had him wanting to mark her as his as soon as he had laid eyes on her. And she was not vain about her beauty like some of his previous lovers such as Inukimi. In fact she seemed to view herself as plain at best. And she was warm inside and out. Her compassion and gentle nature radiated from her so much so that she could calm his beast into a bumbling house inu. Even he was enamored with the small female and it had only been three days since they had met. He would scent mark her as his before they left her world. And that would serve to ward off other males in both of their worlds. And if they did not heed his scent mark... He cracked his knuckles menacingly. Oh would he take pleasure in destroying those that would dare to take what was his.

* * *

"So do you want to come with us?" Eri asked breathlessly.

Sometimes she wondered about her luck... Eri had called her to ask her if she wanted to go with them to a movie. And part of her wanted to go because she hadn't seen them in so long... And the other part didn't want to go and leave Touga here. Sure she knew that he would behave for her mother but... She didn't want to be separated from him. But she wanted to go see her friends... But she couldn't leave him behind... "Uhh... I can't tonight. But tomorrow night I could make it."

"Huh well I think we can put it off till tomorrow. So meet us at the theater at eight o'clock okay?"

"Okay and I may have a friend come along if that's okay?" She chewed on her lip nervously. Hopefully this wouldn't turn into another big biker boyfriend mess like it had with Inuyasha...

"Sure! So we will meet you and your friend tomorrow at eight! See you then Kagome!"

"Bye Eri and say hi to Yuka, and Ayumi for me!"

"Will do!"

A click signalled that Eri had hung up and she sighed and hung her head. She had to purchase something for Touga to wear tomorrow... And if he was anything like Inuyasha it would not be fun. She turned and stalked back down into the kitchen where her mother was putting around cooking. "Hey mom I need to get something for Touga to wear. Eri invited me to a movie and I didn't want to leave him behind."

Her mother turned and raised a delicate brow at her. "Well that's fine dear. But my question is what is going on between you and that man? You two seem awfully attached after only having known each other for three days. With Inuyasha it took months for you to feel this attached..." She placed her spatula down and crossed her arms over her chest.

She cringed and backed away defensively. "I-I don't really know... I mean he's uhh hot. And he's got a personality that is so attractive... I guess you could say that I may be crushing on him a little bit. But don't worry the feeling will not be returned! I mean have you seen him?" She fanned herself dramatically with both hands.

"I thought as much." Her mother nodded before she turned and returned to her cooking. "But you shouldn't immediately count yourself out Kagome. I think there is more to his feelings than you think."

She plastered on a fake smile and nodded. Inside she was thinking that there was absolutely no way in hell that Touga the single most gorgeous male that she had ever seen could want her. But that was beside the point and she had come here with a purpose. "Could I use the car for a bit? I'd rather get the clothes shopping done at night for obvious reasons."

"Go ahead and take the car. Just be back before ten or you will miss your grandpa. You know that his old body can't stay up much past that."

"Right!" She giggled and grabbed the car keys, and her wallet. "Thanks mom!" She turned and made her way back up the stairs and into her room where Touga was sitting just as she had left him. "Hey my friends invited me out tomorrow night and I wanted you to go with me."

He looked up at her in surprise his thick brows rising into his hairline. "I would go with you anywhere you asked me to."

Her cheeks heated up and she coughed into her hand. "Well you see... We need to go and get you some more appropriate clothing so that you can go."

"And what is wrong with my current attire?"

Oh great now he sounded offended... And he did not look pleased wither if the scowl on his face was any indication. "It's nice but it will stand out in this time! And that is something that you don't want to do! So..."

"So you wanted to make sure that I could meld with the populace. I understand."

"You do?" She sighed in relief at how easy it was to get him to agree. Hell with Inuyasha the only thing she had managed to get him into was a bandana... "Ok well take off your armor and that pelt. And then we can go."

"I have to leave mokomoko behind?"

"Uhhh yes... No one carries around huge pelts these days. And especially not ones that drag across the floor. So you need to take it off, and your armor." Internally she was squealing at the way he had referred to his pelt. It was so cute! And she vaguely wondered if Sesshomaru referred to his pelt the same way. She was drawn back to him when he stood and unclasped his armor, and mokomoko before he sat them on her futon. "Good now I just need to get dressed! You can go and wait downstairs with my mother. I'll be down in a minute."

"Ok." He muttered before he turned and stalked out the door.

"Poor Touga..." She giggled before she turned back to her wardrobe and sifted through it. It was definitely warm out so shorts, or a skirt were in order... Her fingers ran across a knee length dark wash denim skirt and she plucked it out and sat it on her desk. Next she pulled out a black long sleeved shirt with a sweetheart neckline. Once she had her desired outfit assembled she quickly stripped out of her chihaya, and hakamas before she changed into her new outfit. She untied the tie in her hair and let it pool around her thighs, fluffing it with her fingers before she deemed herself ready to go. Grabbing her purse from her desk she turned and made her way out of her room and down the stairs. She made her way into the kitchen where she found Touga watching her mother cook. As soon as he caught her scent though he turned to face her and she could swear that his eyes bugged out.

"That kimono is highly improper Kagome..." He growled his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"No it isn't. A lot of people wear things that are far more improper in this time. So deal with it and follow me." She turned on her heel and stalked over to her black flip flops before she slipped them on. Once she finished she stood and gestured for the still irritated looking Dai to follow her. And he did with much reluctance, and irritation.

* * *

Kagome was still laughing even after they had arrived at the nearby clothing store. When she had started the car he had shot straight up in his seat before he proceeded to threaten the vile youkai with death if it did not release them. Needless to say she had burst out laughing and he had not been pleased. But after she had explained to him what a car was he had been embarrassed at himself as well.

So now here she was leading a massive, at least by every ningen standard, Daiyoukai around the clothing store trying to find something that would look nice on him. And more importantly something that would fit. God what was the male? He was a good several inches over 6 feet tall! Hell he made Sesshomaru look small! She huffed and started sorting through jeans. Dark wash would look good on him... Anything would look good on him... She pulled out several of their larger choices and pushed them into his arms before she pointed at the dressing room. "Go in there and try these on."

He fingered the fabric oddly for a moment before he stalked over to the dressing room.

After he was safely tucked inside of one of the stalls she headed over to a shirt rack and started searching for something for him to wear. "Maybe black would look best... Or red... Blue maybe..." She mused pulling out several choices before she took them over to the stall he was in. As soon as she got close enough she realized that he had not latched the door and it was open. And he was having obvious trouble trying to change if the pained yelp was any indication. She rushed forward and hesitantly peeked into the stall where he was fighting with the zipper of a pair of jeans. A zipper that had pinched his ahem... more delicate parts.

"Vile contraption you dare to assault the Inu no Taisho?!" He snarled the sound carrying across the busy store.

She winced and without thinking dove into the stall latching the door after her. "Touga what are you doing?" She whispered in a frantic tone.

"I have done nothing! This beast has attacked my manhood!"

"Oh god... Stand still and let me help you okay?" Once he had she made sure to look up as she took the zipper in her hand and slowly undid it, releasing the tortured flesh from between the metal teeth. And with a deep flush she adjusted the pants before she zipped them back up. Once she had finished she stepped back and looked down at how he looked and nodded in approval. "They look good on you... So we can just get you a couple pairs in this size."

He did not look pleased at all. "They attacked my person and these jeans will suffer for their transgressions."

She couldn't help but to burst into giggles at how serious he looked threatening inanimate onjects. "Touga they are not alive! They are just pants... like a modern day hakama."

"Hakamas do not attack my manhood yet these do. Why?" His head cocked to the side so adorably, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"They clasp differently then the hakamas that you are used to. It just takes some getting used to. I had problems going from these to hakamas like the ones that you are used to. I never tied them tight enough and they would always fall down."

"How hard is it to tie hakamas?"

"About as hard as it is to zip up a pair of jeans." She shot back before she grabbed several shirts and handed them to him. As she did she noted that he had shed his haori as well and she was finally able to take in the well muscled male in front of her. Inuyasha was muscled but...not like his father was... Her mouth ran dry and she shuddered as heat pooled in the bottom of her stomach. "Ok so just try these on and we can go..." With that she backed away and hurriedly shut the door making sure to stand in front of it to ensure that it didn't open. That was when she noticed the crowd gathered around, their stares trained on her. "What?!" She snapped embarrassed beyond belief. Her tone had the crowd quickly dispersing much to her relief.

"Ok I am finished." Touga called for her after another moment.

She sighed in relief and stepped back into the dressing room. And when she did her jaw promptly hit the floor. He had chosen a dark red T-shirt to go with the dark wash jeans that she had helped him into. And gods did he looked good in those clothes... She had been so busy ogling how he looked that she was startled when he cleared his throat.

"Well?"

"You look great!" She answered truthfully. "So we can just get the rest of this stuff and go."

"If you wish." He answered before he started stripping to put his regular attire back on.

"Wait until I'm gone to do that!" She squealed before she hurried back out of the dressing room. How did she get herself into messes like this?

* * *

After the dressing room episode they had quickly finished up their shopping excursion by grabbing him a package of boxers, and socks. After that they had crossed the street and purchased a pair of gray and red nikes for him. They had just returned to the shrine and carried all of the bags in. And by that she meant that he had taken everything into one hand and carried it all in. "Mama we're back!"

"We're in the kitchen dear!"

Before she led him into the kitchen she turned and stopped him. "My grandpa will throw ofuda at you but they don't do anything. So don't take offense to it or anything."

"Of course not." A smirk tilted at the corners of his lips.

"Good. Now come on." She turned and led him back into the kitchen where as expected her grandpa went through his usual routine.

"YOUKAI BEGONE!" Was the only warning she had before several paper ofudas shot by her face and smacked into Touga's chest.

"GRANDPA CUT IT OUT!" She yelled while she quickly pulled the ofuda off of an amused looking Touga.

"Grandpa behave yourself! He is Kagome's friend." Ai chastised from her seat.

"Yeah grandpa leave him be!" Kagome muttered while she led Touga to a seat next to hers. "Where is Souta?" She asked when she noticed he still wasn't home.

"Oh he's staying at Tomoya's house tonight." Her mother answered.

"Ahh I see. Well I guess he can meet Touga later since he's going to be around for a while." And she could only imagine her brother's reaction when he met the large Daiyoukai. He would probably start idolizing Touga in seconds...

"Kagome?"

She perked up when she realized that her grandpa had spoken to her. "Uh yes?"

"Gods blood child pay attention!" The old man chastised before he repeated his earlier question. "What did you need to ask me?"

"Oh right! Do you know what year Midoriko was born?"

"Yes she was born in 1213 in a small village several days north of Edo. Why?"

Something just didn't seem right to her but she pushed it aside for later. "So we at least have an idea of where to look. But if she is on your lands then you would know of her right?"

"Yes I would. If she was born that is." Touga answered her while he locked eyes with her, then with her mother.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked slowly.

"It means that your presence in that time could have changed several things. It is possible that Midoriko will be born with a different soul."

"But Touga that could only happen if someone else possessed her soul."

"Yes and I believe that you possess her soul. You did bring the shikon no tama into the world in a manner similar to her yes?"

"Well yes but..."

"So her soul was inside of your body right?"

"Yes Touga but that was only because I was...Kikyo's...reincarnation..." She trailed off the pieces finally coming together.

"No you are not Kikyo's reincarnation. I believe that the miko you seek is actually you." Touga answered her seriously.

Her stomach dropped and the last thing she remembered as darkness set in was Touga's worried face leaning over her.

* * *

So what do you guys think? Good? Bad? R&R and let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

Yay another chapter! I got a lot of good feedback for this story and that excites me! So here is another chapter for you guys! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Kagome sighed and relaxed into the hot water of the tub. She couldn't keep the conversation with her grandpa out of her head. Nor could she keep Touga's suggestion from her head as well. If she was Midoriko's reincarnation then it would explain a lot. But at the same time she was still confused. Would Midoriko even be born? Did this mean that she should stay away from Touga's time? She shook her head and quickly stood up to get out of the tub. She needed to talk to him to see what he thought. Grabbing her robe she shrugged into it and made her way back into her room to get dressed. They did have a movie to go to with her friends tonight... So she thumbed through her closet until she found a dark blue tank top that exposed her midriff, and a pair of black skinny jeans. She quickly slipped them on before she grabbed a hairtie from her desk and tied her hair into a high pony tail. Giving herself a once over in the mirror and deciding that she was passable, she turned and left her room. As she made her way down the stairs the front door opened and Souta bounded in.

As soon as he saw her his eyes lit up and he hurried over. "Sis!" He cried before he hugged her around the waist. After a moment he pulled back and looked up at her. "Is Inuyasha here?"

Sadness shot through her and she quickly pushed it away and plastered on a fake smile. "No. But I have someone else for you to meet." She said excitedly.

"Who?" He asked though it was obvious that he was bummed about not getting to see Inuyasha. The boy idolized him after all...

"His name is Touga and he's an Inu Daiyoukai." And just as she knew they would, her brother's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

"Cool..."

"Yup so let's go! He's probably in the kitchen with mom." She tugged him into the kitchen with her where her mother was preparing the ingredients for dinner. "Mom where's Touga?" She asked when she didn't see her companion.

"Oh he went out to the shrine with grandpa dear."

"Oh ok! Well to the shrine we go!" She yelled dramatically before she tugged her dumbstruck brother after her. She dragged him outside and over to the shrine where she could hear a commotion of some kind. The reason became apparent when she got close enough to hear what was being said.

"I regret to inform you that this is merely a simple vase with no special enchantments." Touga's deep baritone sounded highly amused.

"YOUKAI THAT HAS BEEN IN THE HIGURASHI FAMILY FOR CENTURIES! HOW DARE YOU MOCK OUR MOST HONORED ANCESTORS BY CALLING THEM LIARS?!" Gramps shouted obviously irate.

"Perhaps they were like you? Senile?" Touga shot back in a voice that bordered on laughter.

At this point she had reached the shrine and she reached out and slammed the shoji open. "What are you two doing?" She glared at the big Inu for egging her grandpa on. Now he was going to try even harder to prove that the items were blessed, or he would try and bless them himself. All of which meant a headache for her.

Touga answered her a mischievious smile overtaking his face. "I was simply telling your grandfather that these supposed enchantments are nothing more then stories. Surely you can feel that these items possess no magical aura." A statement and not a question.

"Kagome how can you doubt your grandfather?!" Gramps sobbed before he rushed by them.

"What's wrong with gramps?" Souta asked staring wide eyed at where the old man had just run off to.

"Who knows..." She sighed before she remembered what she had come out there for. Pointing at the Dai she proceeded to introduce them. "Souta this is Touga. Touga this is my little brother Souta."

Souta reacted just as she had thought he would. In a second he was in front of the amused Dai asking him a barrage of questions. "WOW HE'S SO COOL! Hey can you use magic? Can you change into a giant dog? When you are a giant dog can you shoot fire from your mouth? Or poison? Can you make lightning strike down from the sky? Can you cut through steel with your claws? Can you-mmph!"

At that point she reached forward and clamped her hand around her annoying brother's mouth. "Souta he can't answer your questions if you don't give him time to! Sorry Touga... Souta can be enthusiastic...about certain things."

He chuckled and patted Souta on the head before he stood to his full height, which elicited another excited sound from Souta. "I can see that. It is actually refreshing to meet another ningen who is so inquisitive. Most that I have met are not as you know."

"Yes I do..." She released Souta and booted him with her foot. "Go inside and find something to do. I need to talk to Touga."

"Awww but sis!" Souta whined and stomped his foot before crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

"NOW SOUTA!"

"Fine! But next time there's a spider in your room I'm not going to kill it for you!" And with that he turned and stomped into the house.

"Brat..." She hissed before she turned and motioned for the large Dai to sit with her. And once he had settled back down next to her she brought up what had been bothering her earlier. "Something occurred to me earlier. What if we are right about who I am reincarnated from? Wouldn't that mean that if I am in that time Midoriko won't be born?"

"Yes that would be correct." He started slowly glancing down at her from the corner of his eye.

"And wouldn't that mean that I am robbing her of her life by going back? If I stay then she won't come into existence... That would be selfish of me wouldn't it?" Glancing up blue eyes met gold and she frowned. She wanted to stay with him...

"I do not think so. By existing there you are preventing her from becoming trapped in the Shikon no tama. And if you did leave due to guilt over her life, then she would face the same fate. Trapped forever in an endless battle."

She opened her mouth to argue but she stopped. He was right in a way but she still felt guilty. "But she won't exist."

"Yes she will. You are her, and she is you. For the first time in centuries she is whole and free to live however she wants. Through you she exists such is reincarnation. Did you not believe this when you thought that you were that other woman's reincarnation?"

Had she thought that? Looking back she realized that she had, and she had tried to convince Inuyasha, and Kikyo of that as well. It hadn't worked but she had still believed it. "So I am saving her from imprisonment. Because she would walk the same path if she were born again."

"Right. If she had not wanted this then she would not have fractured her soul the way she had. Sealing only half, and then releasing the other half upon her death. She wanted all of this to come to pass. At least I am of this opinion."

Suddenly she understood that Midoriko probably realized her mistake, and wanted to rectify it. But more then that, she wanted to be free. Just like Kikyo had wanted to be free. And by being someone else they achieved that in a way. Sure Midoriko would never exist as Midoriko, but she would exist as Kagome. So it was not all lost. "She wanted to be free."

"Yes."

"And if she is born as Midoriko she will start the same series of events over and over again until I get it right. So it's like I am supposed to be there in her place. Maybe I always was meant to be there."

"Perhaps you were."

"So what do I do now? Do I go back and stay there for good? What will I do to pass the time? It's not like I have a quest to complete anymore since Midoriko most likely won't even be born. My reason for staying originally was that."

"No she brought you back to prevent her from making the same mistakes. She wanted you to stay. The Kami want you to stay. Surely they were not pleased with such a bauble being created in the first place."

"So I will stay..." She trailed off uncertainly before meeting his eyes. "But do you think I can still come and visit my family? Do you think that would make a difference?"

"No I do not believe it would. But to be safe we should wait a few months before we return. That way we can be sure."

"Ok." She whispered sounding meeker than she ever had before. Would he allow her to stay with him as long as she wanted? He had called himself her new protector. Did he really mean it? She steeled herself and looked up at him meeting his eyes. "I can stay with you right?"

He looked surprised his brows rising up into his bangs. "Yes of course. I did say that I was your protector did I not? How could I protect you if I was not with you?"

She searched the depths of his eyes and found sincerity. He meant it and unlike Inuyasha he would not abandon her when another woman came calling. A blush took over her cheeks at the thought. Where had it come from? This was Inuyasha's dad! "Yeah you did say that. But I wasn't sure that you meant it. My last protector betrayed me for another woman many times. So I guess I just needed to be sure."

"Well I am not one to lie. When I make a promise I keep it no matter what. You can trust me to honor my vow unlike your last protector." He smiled down at her brightly before he stood and offered her a hand.

She blushed and took it allowing him to pull her to her feet. "I'm happy to hear it. But we should get inside so that we can find you something to wear tonight." And just like that her entire demeanor changed. What was she going to tell her three nosy friends?

* * *

Ok so maybe dressing an incredibly hot Daiyoukai in modern clothes wasn't exactly a good idea on her part, because every female in the general vicinity was ogling him. Not that she could blame them because he looked positively hot in the outfit she had dressed him in. He was wearing a pair of jeans which he was still scowling at. His torso was adorned in a red button down shirt with the top two buttons undone showing a white undershirt. His sleeves were rolled up halfway showing his toned arms, and blue stripes that ran around his wrists. She had been surprised to see that the stripes were not just on his cheeks. And according to him they ran over his entire body. That actually made her curious to where they started, and where they ended. Needless to say she had to clamp down on her perverse thoughts before they got her in trouble. And now they were standing outside of the theater waiting for her friends to show up.

"Hey Kagome!"

"Speak of the devil..." She giggled before she waved to the three rapidly approaching girls. "I was wondering when you would show up!" She greeted right when they stopped before her.

"Sorry Eri took too long to get ready!" Yuka shot Eri a hot look when the other girl started to protest. "You stood in front of the mirror for half an hour doing your hair! Don't even try to deny it!"

Eri pouted but that did not last long at all when she noticed who Kagome was with. "Who's this Kagome? I don't think we've met before."

At Eri's question Yuka, and Ayumi were instantly drooling over Touga much to her disdain. "His name is Touga and he's a friend of mine. And no he is not available." She bit out taking pleasure in their groans of defeat.

"All the hot ones are taken..." Yuka sighed before she perked back up. "So what movie are we gonna see?"

"Something scary!" Eri offered enthusiastically.

"No a romantic comedy!" Ayumi shot back.

"And this is my que to step back and let you guys decide." Kagome muttered before she stepped back to wait. Which she was perfectly content to do but apparently her companion had other ideas.

"What do you mean by I am not available? I am right here so surely I am available." Touga's voice cut into the silence surrounding them.

She started and turned to face him surprise flashing through her eyes. "Uhhh well I meant that you were not single... As in you were not looking for a female. That's what I meant when I said that you were not available."

Understanding filtered across his features and he hmmed. "Ah I see. But I am available as you put it. I have no female tying me down unless you were claiming me." His expression changed to one of amusement.

She sputtered and gaped at him in disbelief. "Wha-Why would you even say something like that? It's not funny!"

"I was not trying to be funny. Since when was telling the truth funny?"

She couldn't really argue because in a way he was right. The truth wasn't meant to be funny, well not all the time. And certainly not in this situation. "I would not embarrass myself by doing something like that."

His expression changed to that of one who was offended and he raised a brow at her. "I am an embarrassment to you?"

Of course he had to take it that way! Fumbling and backtracking she hurriedly corrected him. "No! It's just that I am not going to claim someone I can't have! It would be embarrassing to both of us if I did." She trailed off feeling self conscious about herself. "Let's just leave it for now ok?" And with that she turned away from him and proceeded to ignore him. It was easy enough to do as her friends had finally decided on a horror film called Sinister. They hurried into the movie theater and she dragged an oddly silent Daiyoukai after her. "Why did they have to pick a horror film?" She whined already feeling nervous. She never did well with horror films...

* * *

An hour in and she was already squeezing the life out of Touga's arm. Her head was buried in his shoulder and she was quivering rather violently. Why did she think that this was a good idea? Horror movies terrified her! She would rather fight Naraku all alone then watch this movie!

"Kagome why do you cower? I will not allow you to be harmed."

No he wouldn't as he had already proved much to her embarrassment. When the movie had started he had taken one look at the screen and brandished his claws to kill the witch responsible for trying to draw souls or something. Needless to say she had to drag him into his seat and explain what a movie screen was. And soon after that she had found her face permanently buried in his shoulder.

"I don't like scary movies..." She whimpered peering up at the screen only to 'eep' and bury her face back into his shoulder when someone's face was run over with a lawn mower.

"Then why did you agree to watch it?" He rumbled with laughter at her countenance.

"Sh-Shut up! Why did you let me come in here?" She shot back teeth chattering from fear. Taking a chance she peered up from his shoulder and met his gaze meekly.

"I did not know that you would react this way." He shot back bemused. Obviously he was torn between being concerned and amused with the situation. "We could leave..."

"No! If I can fight youkai I can watch a scary movie! So we are going to sit right here and- OHMYGOD! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! DID THAT THING JUST MOVE?! OHMYGOD HE DID! HE'S IN THE SCREEN DUDE GET OUTTA THERE!"

"Quiet down! Some of us are trying to watch a movie here!" A snotty girl sitting in front of them shot back from her seat.

"Whoops! Hehe sorry about that..." She sweatdropped and sank back down into her seat.

"I thought that this was a ree-cour-ding" Touga enunciated slowly still not used to the word. "Is this all happening now in some other dimension? Should we go and help those people?"

"No it's a recording To! It isn't real so don't try and attack the screen." Kagome pleaded latching back onto his arm in an attempt to block the movie out. How could he sit through this without flinching? Hell her friends were even having a hard time with this movie and they thrived off of stuff like this! She swore to the gods that if something crazy happened she was out of this theater. After a few moments she peeked back up at the screen where the main character was creeping through his house in the middle of the night. It was pitch black and you could barely see his form at all. And without any warning a pale face shot into the camera causing her to actually jump out of her chair. "AHHHHHH!" She screamed not even noticing that she had latched onto Touga's torso and was now wrapped around it.

"Kagome is it customary for ningen to rut in places like this?"

Her eyes popped open and she finally noted where she was, and with a small shriek she scrambled away. "I'm sorry for that To!" She apologized profusely.

"I was not talking about you... I was talking about them." He sneered in disgust and pointed over their shoulders.

Wide eyed she turned and looked to where he was pointing and sure enough there were two people going at it in the back row. "Ewww! Why would someone do something like that?" She gagged suddenly not wanting to stay where she was any longer. The smell must have been bothering him for quite some time and she felt bad for not noticing. "Do you wanna go? The movie is almost over anyways."

"That would be much more pleasant." He nodded in relief and stood.

"Hey guys we're gonna wait for you outside." Kagome informed her friends before she lead him out of the theater. "Sorry about that... You know the people in the back. Some people just don't have any manners."

"Keh. Some youkai are even worse. In fact ookami rut in front of their entire pack."

She led him to a bench and sat down next to him. "Huh it's a good thing that I turned Kouga away then." And it was because she never would have had it out in front of anyone ningen, or youkai.

"Who is Kouga? And what do you mean you turned him away?" He asked an oddly intense tone to his voice. "Oh he was this ookami that claimed me as his woman... I didn't accept but he was kind of dense and he never took my denials for what they were. It actually caused a lot of problems between my protector, and I. Because they were always getting into fights over it and I had to break it up all of the time." And that had always led to one pissed off Inuyasha.

"It was good that he did or the ookami would have taken you. They are known for kidnapping women and rutting with them against their will."

"Kouga wouldn't have done that. But all the same I didn't want to be his. And if he had tried to force me I would have purified his dick." She added as an afterthought.

A deep rumbling chuckle passed through his lips. "I suppose that it is best for him that he did not yes?"

"Yup." After that they quickly dissolved into silence. What was she supposed to say now? Now that her mind was allowed to wander she was thinking back to what he had said earlier. What did he mean by her claiming him? If she asked would he answer? Did she even really want to know? Because gods as her witness she had no chance with him like that. He belonged to Izayoi that much was clear. He could never love her, a mere ningen miko. There was no way so why ask and hurt herself by asking?

At that moment her friends walked out of the theater and made their way over. "Gods that movie was scary!" Yuka shuddered from her head to her toe.

"Yeah but at least we made it through unlike Kagome." Eri teased poking at Kagome's head.

"Yeah yeah whatever! So are we going to eat or what?"

All three of them shared a sly look before they turned back to her and chorused simultaneously. "Yup!"

And she groaned because she could see where this was going from a mile away. She glanced at Touga to see him eyeing a poster oblivious. Poor thing was going to be at her friends mercy soon...

* * *

"Ok so spill Kagome! Is he your boyfriend or what?"

She choked on her cheeseburger and glared at Yuka. But before she could say anything Touga cut in in all of his shining glory.

"What is a boyfriend?" He asked looking absolutely clueless.

When all of her friends looked at him strangely she hurriedly interjected. "He's from a different country so he doesn't know what that means." She placated before she turned to Touga. "It's how people here refer to those who are courting each other. We call them boyfriends, or girlfriends depending on their gender. So for instance if I were being courted by you, I would call you my boyfriend. Get it?"

"Yes so if I were courting you I would call you my girlfriend?"

"Yeah! That's how it works!" She blushed and turned away to glare at her nosy friends. "And no he is not my boyfriend. We just met a few days ago! And have you seen him?" She gestured to the large Inu dramatically.

"Yeah he's gorgeous." Yuka sighed dreamily a blush overcoming her features.

"Yes he is! So why would he court me?" Kagome hissed irritated at her friend for some reason.

At this point Touga cut in again before anyone else could. "You are beautiful that is why. And your beauty is not only on the outside. Anyone would be lucky to court you."

And que her jaws descent to the floor. She was stunned speechless like she had never been before. "Uhhh what?"

"He's saying that he wants to be your boyfriend! Oh how romantic!" Ayumi gushed ever the romantic.

"How did we go from eating to trying to get Touga to be my boyfriend? What happened to having a nice night out?" At this point she was convinced that the blush would never leave her cheeks.

"We are having a nice night out! We're doing two of our favorite things! Playing matchmaker for you, and spending time with you!" Eri supplied a smug look on her face.

"Why don't you three invest more time in your own love lives and not mine?" Kagome hissed in embarrassment.

"Uhhh because we have love lives already! You are the only one among us who does not have a boyfriend! You're also the only one who's still a virgin."

"Shut up Yuka! Jeez broadcast it to the whole world why don't you?!" How did she get herself into situations like this? "Look we gotta get going already so we will see you all some other time." She stood and threw her money down before she grabbed Touga and hurriedly dragged him from the restaurant.

"What is so embarrassing about being a virgin? If anything youkai males prefer it when their mates are virgins."

"Ningens are different in this time." She groaned while she dragged him down the sidewalk. "They like experienced women."

"So a courtesan is the prime choice of men in this time?"

"No not necessarily. But... You know what? Why are we even discussing this? It has nothing to do with me or you."

"Ah but it does!" He corrected her as they reached the shrine steps.

She turned to face him confusion fluttering in her mind. "How?"

"You did warn your friends off from me did you not?"

"Well yes but-"

"That is something a female would do when the male was one that they were interested in. So in a way you staked a claim on me."

She gaped in shock heat rushing to her cheeks. "No I didn't! Didn't we already talk about this?"

"Yes but you did not let me finish earlier. You simply assumed that I would shun you outright. You never gave me a chance to respond to your claim."

"But I wasn't claiming you!" She argued though it was rather forced because in a way she had claimed him... Not that she had meant it that way but...

"But you did. And at that point I had the right to accept, or deny your claim. As I still do now."

Oh gods he was going to laugh at her! She clenched her eyes shut and awaited the verbal lashing that was sure to come.

"I accept."

Her heart stopped at those two words and it felt as though the breath was sucked from her lungs. "Wha-What?!" She asked breathless. Had she heard him right?

"I said I accept your claim. As of right now I have decided to court you."

Blackness raced across the edges of her vision and overtook her in a second. The last thing that she saw was him reaching out for her a panicked expression on his face

* * *

Haha poor Kagome being claimed by a sex god like Touga! Anyways R&R and let me know what you thought! Sorry for moving so fast but in this story Kagome was already over Inuyasha so their relationship will progress fast.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow people really seem to like this story it seems! I wasn't sure if there would be a lot of people who like it because the base of it is so strange. Well I won't overanalyze it so thanks for all of the support guys! Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

The first thing her mind registered was that she was laying on something soft. The second thing she registered was a powerful youkai somewhere near her. For a split second her reiki came to the surface to defend her before she realized whose aura it was, and her power quickly diminished. Her eyelids felt like led as she tried to force them open. "Wh-What happened?" She groaned as her eyes finally fluttered open.

Suddenly Touga was in her line of vision a concerned look on his face. "You fainted. Are you alright?" He moved to help her sit up.

"I fainted?" She muttered as she allowed him to help her sit up. "How did that happen?"

"You really do not remember?" He asked brows furrowed in confusion.

"No."

He sighed and once he made sure she was steady he sat back. For a moment he just regarded her with warm eyes. "I decided to court you. When you heard that you fainted."

Her eyes widened to hereto unforseen heights and she nearly fainted again. "Wh-What? You want to court me? Why would you want to marry me?" She stuttered out her emotions racing all over the place. A blush broke out across her face heating it to nearly scalding temperatures making her feel light-headed.

An odd look crossed his features then and he leaned forward in a predatory manner. "I never said anything about marriage."

"Well then I don't know what you are after! I am not one to do trysts so if that's what you want you'd be better off going somewhere else!" She hissed nervousness giving way to anger.

"If I wanted a tryst I could easily sate myself with one of my concubines at the main estate. No what I want is for you to be my mate." He leaned in and stared her down intensely.

"But I'm ningen..."

"Why does that matter?"

"I'll get old and die and you won't. And besides I'm not the one meant for you." And she felt anguish because she wasn't meant for him. Izayoi was and she had been stupid for allowing herself to feel so much for him when he would want the hime one day. But she still wanted him even if she knew that she couldn't have him...

A look of irritation passed across his features and he growled at her. "I say that you are meant for me. I can feel it in my soul Kagome. No one has ever made me feel as much as you have. And as for you growing old, you need not worry about that. When I take you as my mate I will bind my youki to you. It will extend your life force to match mine. You will never grow old and die as long as you are mine."

The way he spoke with such conviction as if it would happen regardless brought her up short. No one save Kouga had ever pursued her so ardently, or openly before. And she was a million times more attracted, and enamored with this male then she could have ever been with him. Still she had to remember Izayoi and Inuyasha... He was off limits to her and that was all there was to it. "I'm sorry but I can't accept." When he opened his mouth to protest she cut him off quickly. "It isn't that I don't have feelings for you... It's just that I know that you will love someone else one day. I don't want to fall even deeper, only for you to decide that you want another over me. And at the same time I can't take you from her because I would feel like I was cheating her out of her happiness."

"I do not understand what you are talking about. Who do you speak of?"

"Her name is Izayoi and she is-will be a hime. When you meet her you will fall in love with her. She will give you another son... My best friend... Inuyasha deserves to be born and I can't accept this because it would interfere with that. Do you see? You have to marry Izayoi and have Inuyasha." Even if it hurts to see you walk away from me...

He was silent, not saying anything, just staring at her with a range of emotions passing through his eyes. And he spoke his tone soft, and oddly disbelieving. "You want me to turn away the woman that I am coming to love for a woman that has yet to be born?"

She winced at the way it sounded when he said it like that. "Uhh yeah...?" It came out sounding like a question.

"You want me to turn away the only woman that I have ever wanted as a mate for some woman that I only married?"

"Yes isn't that what I just said?" She hissed starting to get angry at the repeated questions.

And then he was growling, his eyes flashing red as he pinned her with them. "What part of your presence changing the past did you not understand?"

His anger confused her because in her mind she had done nothing to warrant it. "Well that doesn't have anything to do with you and Izayoi! Trust me when I say that you will regret taking me once you meet her!" She growled back defiantly.

"It has everything to do with my supposed relationship with her!" He growled out his voice rising in pitch. "I had obviously not met you! If I had then I would never have married Izayoi!"

"How can you even know that?! You haven't even met her yet!" She shot back determined to have the last word.

"I know it because I did not meet you before! Just as I have not met her yet! Even so I know what I want! My beast knows what he wants and he will not be denied! He will not take another once he has found the one that calls to him! If Izayoi had been the one then we would have mated her, not married her! Mates are chosen by a youkai's beast that is how we know when we have found them. And my beast has chosen you. That is all there is to it." He finished in a resolute tone.

She gaped at him anger coursing through her and making speaking difficult. "Well your beast will have to accept someone else because I am not doing that to Inuyasha! So you better get over it!" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him in challenge. Even if inside she didn't want to fight him, she had to for Inuyasha.

"You will have to deal as you put it! I have already placed my own claim on you and I have no intentions of taking it back. And as for this son of mine."

"Inuyasha." She corrected curtly.

"Ah yes Inuyasha. Well if he is my son then he will be born regardless of who his mother is. So I see this whole situation as a way for you to hide from what you want. Not that I will allow it."

Molten heat traveled through her veins making her shake in her anger. "You won't allow it? Well that's too bad for you because I made my decision! So if you want to be an arrogant prick about it then go ahead! I deny your claim!"

At that he gave her a bemused, yet somewhat smug smile. "You cannot do that. Only a male can deny a claim. The only way for a female to escape a claim is for the male to rescind it, or for another male to challenge the original claim and win. And as I have no intention of taking back my claim, and the odds of another male besting me in combat are even less likely, you are stuck with me."

She bit her lip until she tasted blood pooling in her mouth. Inus and their possessiveness were going to be her undoing one day! Wait they already were because she could see that he meant everything he said. And she felt regret because Izayoi had loved Touga dearly, and now she was being robbed of her love. "How can you just turn her away when you haven't even met her yet?"

"Because I have not met her." He answered back bluntly. "She will have a whole lifetime to meet another and fall in love. She will never know that she has lost anything."

He was right even if it was hard to admit that Izayoi would never know him the same way. All because of some stupid mistake on her part... "How can everything be so black and white to you?"

"Because I am youkai. I am not saying that I did not love this Izayoi as you say I did. What I am saying is that if I loved her as a mate I would have taken her as my mate. I married her and that is enough for me to know that she was not the one for me. Myself from the future knew it, as I know it now. So denying me would be selfish on your part. You would be dooming me to wander for the rest of my days looking for you again."

"You don't know that... We've only known each other for four days." She denied though it sounded weak even to her.

"Youkai move fast Kagome. And inu do so especially when they have found a particularly good smelling female. Scent is everything to us. It draws us to our mate as it did with you and I." His eyes brightened to a liquid gold as he stared at her with a soft smile gracing his lips. "From the day we met I wanted you. When I first caught your scent I could not resist the urge to go to you. And even now I cannot turn away even if I wanted to."

How long had she waited for such conviction? How long had she craved devotion like this? And how long did she live in pained acceptance that she would never find it? Inuyasha had never offered her this. Inuyasha had made her feel that she wasn't worthy of anything like this. And now here she was with his father, experiencing the one thing that she never thought she would. What could she do? Because even though she knew about Izayoi, she still wanted him. And yet she knew that he would die after he fought Ryukoutsei... Was she setting herself up for heartbreak? No because she would not let him go after Ryukoutsei alone. "I will only accept on one condition."

"And what would that be?"

"That you allow me to go with you into battle." As expected he started to protest so she cut him off. "Do not forget that I know more of the future, your future than you do. My term is non negotiable. I have to give up several things for this so the least you can do is accept my request."

He scowled obviously not liking the terms she had given him. "Fine as long as you are not pupped you may accompany me into battle."

"And one more thing. You have to tell me when I am fertile so that I can choose whether I want pups at that time." She added on after she remembered Ryukoutsei. He would need her help and she would not be pregnant at the time.

A deep displeased growl hissed between his clenched jaws as his eyes flashed red. He did not like it and that was obvious from his tense body language. "May I know the reason as to why you would want to hold off on pups at specific times?"

"No." She snapped irritably. Jeez he acted just like Inuyasha sometimes... "And don't even try and pull a fast one on me because if you do you will be finding yourself sleeping alone!"

"Fine. But I want to know why after I have informed you."

"Fine." And she couldn't argue because he deserved that at least. An uncomfortable silence fell over them and she risked a look at her clock. 12:34 flashed across the surface. Had she really fainted for that long? And had he sat here all this time? "Did you stay here with me the whole time?"

He looked caught off guard by her question though he answered it regardless. "Yes I did. A male never leaves his intended while she is in a vulnerable state. Had you woken up days from now I would still be here."

"Oh. Well would you like to go to sleep? It is late after all." She moved to get up and go downstairs when he stopped her by tugging her back down onto his lap. She blushed to the roots of her hair and sat stiffly.

"You will stay with me in here." He rumbled the sound vibrating through her.

Oh gods he was not saying what she thought he was saying! "Uhhh I am not ready for that yet."

"I did not mean it in that way." He chuckled before he added in a deep husky voice. "With your family staying so close it would be unwise... I do tend to get loud..."

"Eep!" She squealed and dove from his lap into the blankets. A second later a large warm body came to rest next to hers, a large clawed hand coming up to pull her into a solid chest. Shuddering at the warmth radiating off of him she pressed herself more against him. It was hard to believe that she was being courted by Inuyasha's dad! If her friend could see her now he would flip! And what's worse is that she wouldn't care! She wouldn't care because Touga made her feel good in a way that Inuyasha never had. With Inuyasha she had always felt inferior to the point that she rarely attempted physical affection. But with Touga she got the feeling that she could do anything she wanted and he would not turn her away. The thought filled her with confidence and she shrugged over onto her other side to stare up at her Daiyoukai.

"Was there something you wanted?" An amused twinkle in his eyes told her that he already knew what she was up to.

"I just want to try something." Pushing herself up onto her elbow she splayed her other hand across his chest to steady herself. Leaning down she pressed her lips against his softly. A jolt of warmth shot through her at the first contact and she pressed forward more insistently. Kissing Inuyasha in Kaguya's castle had been nothing like this. It had not inspired desire in her. It had been an act of desperation to save him from losing himself. And even though she had loved him at the time, it still did not compare to this. And this was just a simple press of her lips against his. One which she reluctantly pulled back from. She blushed and laid her head down on his chest with a sigh of contentment. She didn't even care that a man she had only met days prior was sleeping in her bed with her. In all of her life she had never felt more safe, or secure than she did in that moment. Hopefully it would last forever...

* * *

"Did you get everything you needed Kagome?" He asked the next morning as he hefted her large bag up in one hand.

"Yeah I got everything that I might need." She chirped cheerfully from where she had come to stand at his side.

"Good." He gathered her into his free arm and leapt into the well the time slip accepting him easily. Time shifting around him was a feeling that he was sure that he would never get used to. And as they touched back down at the bottom of the well in his time he sighed in relief before he leapt back up out of the well. "I will never get used to that."

"I thought that too at first. But after doing it a couple hundred times I started to enjoy it."

And he did not doubt it as Kagome was just that way. She enjoyed the small things in life where most did not. It made him happy that he had found her. "Perhaps I will learn to enjoy it as well."

"Maybe!" She laughed amusement lighting up her eyes until they shined a bright sky blue color. "I'm sure that you will have plenty of chances to use it."

"I am sure that I will. But for now we should return to my shiro."

"Can we walk back?"

He stopped himself from folding them into his youki cloud at the question. "You would like to walk back?"

"Yeah! With my other companions we used to walk everywhere together. With Inuyasha it was never any fun though because he was such a slave driver... Whenever one of us got tired he was all "stupid ningens and their weak bodies..." or "wench we've only been walking for twelve hours get a move on!" or "jeez wench Naraku's gonna get all the shards because of your lazy ass!"

"Was he truly so obtuse?" He asked in disdain. How had he sired such a monster? Though it did seem as though the boy inherited some of his temperament. He would have to be sure to raise him in a better manner this time around.

"You have no idea..." She sighed before she looked up at him with a pleading look on her face. "Please?"

"There is no need to beg me. We can walk back if that is what you desire."

"Yes!"

And he watched her jump up and down excitedly for a moment before she bent down to retrieve her large black bag. It became apparent after a moment that she could not lift the pack though she was determined to do so. After her twelfth attempt to heave it from the ground he reached for it and picked it up taking her with it.

"HEY!" She squeaked indignantly from where she was dangling in the air.

"If we were to wait for you to be able to lift this bag we would be here for days. Obviously it is much to heavy for you." And it was though it was nothing to him. He would bet that it weighed more than she did.

"Are you trying to call me weak?" She hissed dropping to the ground and retrieving her bow, and quiver.

"No I was not. But this pack is heavier than you are. Fact is fact and you cannot lift it." He said amusement racing through him when she flushed angrily. She looked like a cute little neko when she was angry. "You look adorable like a little kitten. Maybe you have neko in your lineage?"

"And maybe you are about to be zapped with reiki if you keep it up."

"No you would not do that to me. Nor would it kill me if you did attempt it. In fact I daresay I would like it." And he laughed outright when she gaped at him before turning on her heel and stomping off. The woman was just too amusing to tease. And just as entertaining to watch walk away... With that amused thought he sauntered after her before she got too far ahead.

* * *

Traveling with Touga was definitely better than traveling with his son. He understood her need to breaks and demanded that she take several a day. And he even made sure to find her a water source to bathe in every night. And even better, he was clean unlike Inuyasha who didn't bathe regularly. He insisted on bathing every night as well, after she was done of course. She could officially add chivalry to the list of things that he had, and Inuyasha didn't. And after traveling by foot for the last three days she could safely say that she was thoroughly enamored with him. More than she had ever thought that she could be. And as she stared across the fire at him she took in his features highlighted by the orange glow. His eyes shined an iridescent color like smoldering flames, his white hair glowed a gold color. He really was beautiful. And when his eyes shot up to lock on hers she realized she must have said that out loud. Blushing down to the roots of her hair she hurriedly looked away to where her bag was sitting. "I think I want to go and take my bath now."

"Of course."

"M'kay I'm gonna go now..." Retrieving her bathing supplies from her bag she grabbed her bow, and quiver before she stalked off into the trees.

"The same could be said for you." Floated over her before she disappeared from sight.

Stepping over rocks, and tree roots she made her way to the nearby river. It was not far from camp as he had refused to let her get more than a certain distance away at any given time. "Possessive doesn't even begin to describe him..." She mused as she stripped and slipped her body into the cool water. A shiver raced up her spine at the temperature but she slipped further under the water until only her neck and up was exposed. A morose sigh escaped her lips. She missed bathing with Sango... Hell she just missed Sango, and Miroku, and Shippo, and Kirara... Hell she even missed Inuyasha's loud mouth... But did she miss it enough to leave Touga behind if the chance ever arose? She dunked herself under the water and peered around, her long raven locks floating around her. "No she would not." Once she had thoroughly wet her hair she breached the surface and took a large gulp of air in. It cleared the pain that her revelation had caused her, chasing the stabbing sensation from her heart as quickly as it chased the pressure from her lungs. Though there was still a lingering ache that she suspected would always be there. She would meet them all again, she was sure of it. It made her feel a little bit better and with a small smile she turned and poured some of her favorite lily scented shampoo onto her hand before she lathered it into her hair. "Still I miss my girl time..." Leaning back she dunked her head into the water and rinsed it clean of suds before she stood back up. Only to shiver when she sensed another presence. She stared straight ahead where she could see a tall masculine silhouette standing just out of sight. "Who's there?" She demanded to know as she moved to the shore to retrieve her bow, and quiver.

A tall lanky male stepped out from the treeline opposite of her. He was obviously a youkai and you could tell that just from his appearance alone. His hair was long and a murky gray shade that hung down his back. His eyes were red where the whites were supposed to be, a small onyx slit sitting in the middle. Purple crests ran around the sides of his face two matching sets, one coming down from his forehead, and another coming up around his cheeks. Two more crest sat above his eyelids. "My my little miko... What are you doing out here all alone?" He cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Well maybe you are not alone..."

She shuddered and tensed her reiki flooding to the surface defensively. He was dangerous and it set her self preservation instincts wild. "What do you want? And who are you?" The way he was leering at her was like he didn't know whether or not to kill her, or... She didn't want to think about it.

"The dog should know better than to let his bitch out of his sight. But perhaps the kitten is not so defenseless..." He sneered his sharp fangs showing past his bottom lip. "As for who I am... I am Ryukoutsei sworn enemy of the Inu no Taisho."

And just like that her stomach dropped through her feet. Was she really staring down the youkai responsible for Touga's death? With Touga close by? And how had he not sensed Ryukoutsei's presence? As soon as she had let that thought pass there was a change in the wind's direction, and seconds later a massive blast of youki behind her alerted her to the fact that Touga had caught onto the dragon's presence. The ground shook violently and in a second a massive white beast burst from the trees coming to stand protectively over her. "Touga?"

He growled down at her in response before he turned his attention back to Ryukoutsei. When he locked massive red eyes with the dragon he snarled the sound shaking the trees.

"Angry Touga? Is she your intended mate?" Ryukoutsei mocked before he released his youki and took to the air. "She is quite comely...especially for a ningen. Perhaps I will come back and take her from you... But not now..." And with that he streaked off into the sky.

Her mind had barely registered that he had left before Touga was in front of her shaking her. "What?"

"I said are you alright? Did he harm you?" He snarled eyes still tinged red at the threat that had been so close to her.

"No. He was just watching me but I don't know for how long. What does he want from me?" Because it had most definitely been more than just to piss off Touga.

"I do not know. But I will not allow him to get close to you again."

She wanted to believe him but she couldn't. Because she knew that they would fight one day and she would be there regardless of what he thought. She wouldn't let him face Ryukoutsei alone. She wouldn't lose him as Izayoi had.

His thoughts were racing that night as she bedded down next to him. His greatest enemy had been within touching distance of her, and he had not known. And what was worse was that the damn dragon smelled of arousal when he had looked at her. It disgusted him to know that a vile youkai like that desired her. This meant that he would have to take extra precautions to safeguard her from him. Perhaps a visit to Totosai was in order. He would soon find himself in need of a powerful sword to use. And as he glanced down at her where she had snuggled into his side, he decided that the sooner the better. They would have to extend this trip because he was taking no chances.

* * *

R&R and let me know your thoughts on this chapter. And sorry for the quick romance but meh it's happening. But anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

So I have decided that this pairing is my favorite pairing. Well it ties with Min/Sak and that is saying something because I love Minato/Sakura pairings. There aren't nearly enough stories for these two pairings so I am going to be posting stories like crazy! Well once I finish these two that is. Anyways I'm rambling and there's a story to write. I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked when she realized that Touga was not leading them back to his shiro. He seemed tense to her but that was to be expected after the whole episode with Ryukoutsei.

"I am going to see an old friend. He is a swordsmith and I find myself in need of a powerful sword." He answered with a pointed look in her direction.

"Oh." So he was going to see Totosai... That meant that he was most likely going to have Tetsusaiga forged. And this time it was to protect her not Izayoi, or Inuyasha. Honestly she wasn't sure how she felt about that. "Could I do anything to help with the sword?"

"Help?"

"Yeah my reiki is good for some things after all. I was wondering if there was a way to imbue the sword with it." She had wondered about that when Inuyasha had the sword, but she had never asked him. He would have thrown a fit if she had.

A look of contemplation crossed his features though he kept his gaze trained ahead. "I do not know. It is something that I can ask Totosai when we get there. What kind of effect were you hoping to achieve from doing this?" He turned to look at her still keeping pace.

She didn't really have an answer for him off the top of her head because she wasn't even sure if it could be done. "I don't know. I mean I'm not sure if it can even be done so I hadn't thought that far ahead. And I don't want to offend anyone with presumptions either."

"You would not be. Your desire to help shows that you are a protective female. And I am not at all insulted that you wish to aid me in any way you can."

And now she was taking back her earlier comparisons of him to his son. They were absolutely nothing alike... If she had made such a comment to Inuyasha he would have immediately started ramming her skills to defend his own. "I'm glad that you feel that way. Inuyasha would have been insulted if I had mentioned such a thing. And by insulted I mean he would have started belittling my skills to make himself feel better."

"In a way he sounds like Sesshomaru. My heir does the same thing, belittling everyone else to make himself look better. Though he prefers to simply kill and ask questions later, with those he cannot kill he tends to be overly critical of them. And by critical I mean he belittles them in every way. The only exceptions are myself, and his mother."

"You know I have met Sesshomaru in the Sengoku Jidai and he was like that. Though killing was his preferred choice of action. That all changed when he met Rin though." She mused a smile gracing her lips as she remembered his ward.

"Rin? Who is this Rin?" Touga asked pausing in his step to look at her with interest.

"She's an orphan girl that he found. He lets her follow him around wherever he goes, and he protects her fiercely. And you wanna know the kicker?"

"What is a kicker?"

"Uhh never mind!" She wanted to slap herself across the face for even saying that. "Anyways the strange thing is that she's ningen. Sesshomaru took in and cares for an orphan ningen girl."

And just like she thought it would his whole face dropped into a state of shock. Mouth gaping he managed to get out. "A ningen girl? He protects and cares for a ningen girl? Are you sure that you have the right Sesshomaru?"

"Well he's tall though not as tall as you, has long silver hair. There's a crescent moon on his forehead, and two sets of magenta stripes on his cheeks. And he was the Lord of the West. Does that sound about right?" She giggled when he glared back at her halfheartedly.

"I cannot believe it..." He sighed though it sounded relieved instead of exasperated. "Perhaps I do not have as much to worry about with him as I had thought." With that he turned and started back down the path.

"Not if you give him a tool to revive the dead."

"Why would he need that to protect a ningen girl?" Gold eyes slid over to regard her seriously.

"Because she was dead when he found her. She was killed by a pack of wolves." She grimaced at that. It must have been a horrible death for the girl.

"Yes but that does not mean that she will die in the same manner this time. We must simply encourage him to go find her."

She shot him a dead serious look at that. "Do you think that Sesshomaru would go and find a ningen girl just because you told him to?"

"He does not have to know what I am sending him after. And if she is who I think she is, he will not leave her behind regardless of what she is." There was an odd hint in his voice and he brought his hand up to cup his chin. "Though maybe you had a point with your earlier suggestion."

She shivered at the devious expression on his face. Thankfully it wasn't directed at her. "Do I want to know?"

"Perhaps I will tell you when we get to Totosai's."

And she left it at that because the look on his face promised suffering. At least for Sesshomaru.

* * *

He wrinkled his nose at the stench wafting from Totosai's dwelling. Centuries had passed since he had met the old youkai, and he still difficulty with the stench. And looking down at his female he noticed that she did not look comfortable with it either. Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible he swooped down low and swept her into his arms.

"What was that for?" She hissed though she appeared oddly relieved to avoid stepping on the steaming ground.

"Carrying you." He said simply before he made his way across the terrain to the entrance of the giant skeleton that was Totosai's dwelling. When he stepped into the mouth of the beast he reluctantly sat Kagome on her feet before he moved further in towards the stomach. "Totosai? Myoga?"

A resounding cry reached his sensitive ears before a small prick assaulted his nose. And in seconds a pebble sized Myoga was attached to his nose. One who was promptly plucked off of said nose. "Touga-sama how I have missed you!"

"You mean how you have missed free meals." Touga stated warmly before he dropped the flea onto his shoulder. "Where is Totosai?" He asked when he looked around and found no sight of the other youkai.

"Totosai is in the back room." Myoga answered him before he seemingly took note of Kagome for the first time. His eyes nearly bugged out and he gulped nervously. "Touga-sama who is this miko? This stunning miko..."

He peered at Kagome over his shoulder and noted that she was blushing at the compliment. "This is Kagome my intended."

"Intended? Since when have you taken an interest in acquiring a mate?"

"Since I met her and my beast claimed her as ours." He answered before he gestured Kagome over. Once she was within touching distance he pulled her into his side and nuzzled her cheek. The scent of blood was strong in his nose and he knew without looking that she was blushing again.

"Well Touga-sama she is very beautiful. You always did have good taste in females...Well besides Inukimi..." Myoga added with much hesitance.

Before he could comment Totosai emerged from the back room. A look of surprise crossed the swordsmith's face at who had come to visit him. "Oh Touga-sama you came to visit me?! How nice... And who is this?"

"This is my intended Kagome."

"Oh well good for you my old friend! Now what can I do for you?" An eager look passed across his features as he settled down near his forge.

He moved to sit down near him before he pulled Kagome into his lap. "I need a sword to protect my intended. As you know she is a miko of great power and I would be as prepared as possible for any attempt on her life." He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head when she pressed herself into him.

Totosai immediately perked up before he whipped his prongs from his haori. "Of course! Now I will be needing a fang from you..."

He rolled his eyes and reached up to yank one of his fangs from his mouth before he handed it over to a dejected looking Totosai. "Sadistic old youkai..."

"One of these days I am going to use these on you." Totosai muttered with a snap of the prongs for emphasis. He quickly stuffed them back into his haori before he sat the fang down on his forge. "So what kinds of abilities do you want the sword to have?"

Having already given it much thought on the way there he answered quickly. "I want it to be able to kill a hundred youkai in one stroke. I also want it to be able to take an opponents youki and send it back with more force." A tug on his armor reminded him that Kagome had a question for Totosai and he nodded at her to go ahead. "Kagome has a question for you."

Totosai looked up from preparing the fang and scratched his head. "Uhhh who was Kagome again?"

A giggle escaped from his intended's mouth before she sat up straighter. "I am Kagome Totosai-sama."

"Oh now I remember! Did you need something?"

"Yes I wanted to ask if my reiki could be used to augment the sword's abilities. If he is having this sword made to protect me, then I want to do what I can to protect him."

"Well youki, and reiki are normally opposing forces and because of this it would normally be impossible. But since you are Touga's intended, and even as we speak your auras are continuing to meld together it may be possible. Your energies could recognize each other and meld together in the blade... I would need something to work with from you though." And once again he whipped out the cursed prongs and inched closer with them.

He growled and clutched Kagome tighter to him. "Totosai..."

"It's just a tooth Touga calm down." She placated him by placing a gentle hand on his cheek and running a finger over one of his blue crests. "That being said will the tooth grow back?"

"Oh yes these prongs are enchanted so they encourage a new tooth to grow in place of the old one! Now snip snip!" He snickered maniacally before he attached the prongs to one of her incisors and yanked tearing it from her mouth.

A small squeak of pain escaped her mouth and she glared at the offending contraption. "Thank gods I won't have to do that again..."

"Maybe." Totosai added darkly before he moved to set Kagome's tooth next to his fang. "Now what do you wish to add ability wise?"

"A purifying barrier, and perhaps we could infuse my reiki with the attacks he requested."

"You can erect barriers that purify youkai?" Myoga cut in with interest.

In fact he was curious about it himself as he had never met a miko who could do that. It would take far too much reiki to maintain. "Yes I find myself curious about that as well."

"Other mikos can do that right? I mean if I can than they have to be able to."

"No I have not met one who could before. It would take far too much reiki to maintain."

"Touga-sama is right Kagome-sama. In all of my years I have never met a miko who could do that." Myoga agreed a look of awe shining in his buggy little eyes.

"Huh. Well I guess I have some decent abilities after all..." She mused before she turned back to Totosai. "You can forge the sword to Touga's specifications by yourself, but in order to add my suggestions you will need my help."

"That's right...What was your name again?" Totosai asked scratching his head in confusion.

"Kagome. Now what do you need me to do?"

"Well when I combine the fangs I need you to pump your reiki into the blade, that way we can see if the two will meld properly. And it will also serve to instill it with the abilities that you want. That being said the blade will draw off of your power in much the same way that it does Touga's. You will need to be within a certain distance to him for this to work though... Perhaps I should forge it so that he can choose whether to use your reiki or not. That way he does not run your reserves dry."

"Yes I would prefer it if you forged it that way. I would not want to cause her harm." He growled at the thought clutching her tighter to him.

"Nope of course you wouldn't! Well I will have need of your miko soon so don't go too far."

Little did Totosai know he was not going anywhere without that sword. Not while Ryukoutsei was running around threatening what was his. Kagome would be lucky if she got to bathe by herself.

* * *

Sweat pooled at her brow as she forced more reiki into the incomplete blade. Because she was not wielding the blade as an extension of herself as Touga would be, her power would be sapped from her and drawn to the blade. In order to do that she had to pump a large amount of her reiki into the blade to act as a medium for her power. If Touga were any stronger she would not be able to do it as her power would not even remotely match up. And for the first time she thanked the gods that her reiki was so strong.

"That's good Kagome." Totosai stopped her once he deemed that she had channeled enough power into the blade.

She pulled her body feeling sluggish and weak. If only they had Touga on their side in the fight against Naraku... The damn spider wouldn't have stood a chance... The male had an absolutely massive youki aura and hers barely matched it. And that was saying something because she could purify hundreds of youkai without tiring. "Will it work?"

"We will see once it is finished." Totosai answered her before he turned away to focus on his work.

She sighed and stood on shaky legs to make her way over to her bag to grab her bathing supplies. "I'm gonna go take a bath m'kay?"

Touga stood and moved to her side. "I will come with you. With Ryukoutsei running around I will not take any chances with your safety."

Normally she would argue about his clinginess but right now she was too tired. And she had a feeling that he knew something about the dragon that she didn't. It didn't sit well with her but to overanalyze it in her tired state would get her nowhere. "Sure." She made no sound when he swept her up into his arms and carried her from Totosai's home. She was too tired to take notice of their surroundings instead trusting him to get her to where she needed to go.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm just tired... Pouring reiki into the blade for so long took it out of me. Your youki is incredibly powerful, and potent after all. I doubt many mikos would have been able to match it."

"None would have been able to." He corrected with a proud look in her direction.

"Sure..." She drawled too tired to even comment at this point. Silence engulfed them as she struggled to remain awake against the smooth lull of his gait. She vaguely realized when the air grew damp around them the feeling waking her up slightly.

"We are here."

"Kay..." She mumbled when he set her on her feet. Without waiting to make sure that he had left she started stripping out of her chihaya, and hakamas and once bare she practically fell into the spring.

"Hmm perhaps letting you bathe by yourself in such a state is unwise..." A deep rumbling chuckle sounded from right behind her.

"Then don't let me bathe alone..." She snapped not comprehending what she was saying in her tired state.

"Very well then." The sound of rustling cloth and the clang of armor sounded right before the water rippled.

Her eyes shot open and widened in shock when she caught sight of a very naked male in the spring with her. "Wha-What are you doing?" She hissed desperately trying to cover herself.

A look of amusement passed through his gold eyes and he smirked. "You did tell me not to let you bathe alone. I only did as you demanded."

"Th-That was not what I meant! Get outta here you pervert!"

"No I need to bathe as well so you will have to put up with it. With Ryukoutsei roaming I will not leave your side even to bathe so this will become a regular occurence when we are traveling." He waded over to her and sat down next to her.

"Uhhh no... I have modesty you know!"

"Which is useless because I will see it all soon enough. I see this as a way to do two things. Ensure your safety. And break through your shy tendencies."

"In other words it's a way for you to drive me crazy..." She huffed in irritation and proceeded to ignore him. Which was not easy to do because no matter what she did she was worried that he was going to see more of her then she was willing to show at this time. And she was worried that she would see more of him then she was ready for as well. So she went about washing herself as she normally did, making sure to keep her back to her companion of course. And he surprisingly did not try to grope her, or peek as Miroku would have done. Hell even Inuyasha had peaked on her bathing a few times! But not Touga! Nooo he just bathed with her! As she rinsed the last of the soap from her body she risked a look at him over her shoulder. He was leaning against a smooth rock watching her. And oddly enough she had not felt too embarrassed about knowing he was there. Sure she didn't really like it, but he had been respectful the whole time. So she guessed that she could forgive him. "When do you think Totosai will finish your sword?"

"By tomorrow I would guess. He always has been a fast worker."

She hmmed and rung her hair out before gathering it into a messy bun at the top of her head. "That's good. So what do we do after that?"

"Well I was thinking that it is time to introduce you to my parents, and Sesshomaru."

Somehow she knew that the whole ordeal would not go over as well as she would like. But it was Sesshomaru hater of all things ningen... And she had absolutely no idea about how Touga's parents would react. Not well if the fact that they had never stepped forward to care for their grandson was any indication. "They won't like me very much will they?"

"No they most likely will not." He agreed though he looked like he didn't care whether they liked her or not. "They had always intended for me to mate Inukimi though that did not happen. She was too cold to love... At least to me she was. So I offered her a breeding contract when the time came for me to produce an heir. None of them were pleased but it was my choice not theirs."

"I see." She ducked down in the water and waded over to his side before she sat down next to him. "Well I could care less whether they like me or not."

"I am pleased to hear that."

"Well if you want me then it doesn't matter if they like it or not. And even if they try and make me miserable, I won't leave you."

He looked immensely pleased at her declaration and he took her chin between his fingers and brought her lips to his. The second kiss was as jarring as the first though he took it slow for her sake. It was just a simple press of his lips over hers but she wanted more so she tentatively brushed her tongue over his bottom lip. He instantly opened his mouth and allowed her tongue to snake inside where she hesitantly explored his palate, before moving onto his sharp fangs. They fascinated her and she repeatedly brushed her tongue over the tips even after she felt a sharp prick, and the taste of blood soon followed. But she was a virgin and she didn't want to take it too far so soon, so with a hesitant sigh she pulled away before it went too far. "We should head back to Totosai's."

He looked reluctant to do so but after a moment he sighed reluctantly and turned so that she could remove herself from the water.

As she hefted herself from the water she couldn't help but to run her fingers over her swollen lips. Kissing him really was something else. Something that she couldn't keep her mind off of. Would that ever change? She wasn't sure that she wanted it to.

* * *

At midday the next day Totosai finally finished Touga's new sword which the Daiyoukai was now inspecting with a trained eye. So she watched him weigh the familiar sword in his hands, a pang assaulting her heart at how much he looked like Inuyasha when the hanyou had wielded Tetsusaiga. "What are you going to call it?" She asked though she already knew the answer.

"Tetsusaiga the Iron Crushing Fang." He answered her a look of pride in his eyes at his new sword. "This is truly splendid work my old friend. It does everything we wanted it to?"

"Yes and it will even allow you to keep tabs on your intended as her power runs through it. That means that it will have a pull towards her, which will serve to lead you to her should you ever become separated." Totosai answered easily.

"That is even better. What do you think Kagome?" He turned bright excited eyes on her.

"I love it." She answered him once she had pushed aside her sadness over Inuyasha. She wished that she had a weapon like it but Totosai was a swordsmith and she was a marksman. Still it would be nice to have an enchanted bow...

"I am glad you like it as it will serve to protect you well." With that he turned away from her and addressed Totosai once more. "I will have your payment sent out as soon as I am able."

Totosai waved him off before turning back to his forge. "I know. Now don't you have a soon-to-be-jealous female to confront?"

Touga scowled and bonked him over the head with the broadside of Tetsusaiga before he sheathed it. "Yes as a matter of fact I do. I will be sure to send her your way for a visit soon as well."

"Who was coming to visit?" Totosai asked looking totally clueless.

"Wait and see. Come now Kagome we have places to be."

She went to him and together they made their way out of the skeletal remains. "Do you really think that he will remember that threat an hour from now?"

"No but that is why it will be a surprise if Inukimi decides to visit him." He stated smugly his eyes wandering down to her before he flashed down at youkai speed and hefted her up again.

She glared at him heatedly and spat. "Can't you give a girl a warning next time?"

"But then I would not get to see you looking so flustered."

"Jerk." She muttered though she slumped against his shoulder comfortably. "So Sesshomaru is going to have a cow over me isn't he?"

"Have a cow? Ningens and their strange ways of phrasing things." He chuckled in amusement before he answered her. "Yes he will not be pleased though he has no say in what I do. And if he should try and attack you, I will protect you."

"I wish I had the kotodama so I could just say osuwari and he would fall to the ground in a Sesshomaru sized crater."

"Osuwari? Should I be offended by that?"

"Probably. But you have to admit that the visual of Sesshomaru face down in the dirt is funny."

He chuckled with mirth his twinkling eyes meeting hers. "Yes it is quite amusing. Perhaps I should find a kotodama for him. That you could enchant of course."

"Alright but if he goes into a homicidal rage it was your idea." A laugh threatened to escape from her mouth and she quickly bit her lip to clamp down on it.

His brows were raised up into his bangs and he was frowning at her. "Nice to see that you would leave me to answer for you actions." It was obvious that he was trying to hold back from laughing at her. The tugging of his lips hinted at his internal pleasure.

"Well would you want me to face down Sesshomaru instead?"

His reaction was instantaneous. With a scowl and a deep reverberating growl, he clutched her tighter to him. "No."

And at that she did laugh outright because he looked so cute when he acted like this. Well at least she had a dedicated protector... Though Inuyasha would have jumped at the chance to fight Sesshomaru. Maybe he would get the chance this time around. And she could watch without the fear of him dying. Yes that sounded good to her. Now all she had to do was make sure that Touga survived so he could meet his son. Ryukoutsei would have nothing on her when that time came and that was a promise.

* * *

R&R and let me know what you all think!


	6. Chapter 6

Wow I never expected to get so much feedback when I started posting stories on here! I appreciate everything that you guys do with leaving reviews, and favoriting, following, all of it! Without all the support I would probably lose heart that anyone even liked my stories so thanks to all of you! Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

"Hey Touga?" Kagome started hesitantly. She wasn't sure if he would even be willing or able to help her with her request.

"Yes Kagome what is it that you want to ask me?" He turned his head to stare at her though he never faltered in his pace.

"Do you know anyone who could craft a new bow for me?" She risked a glance over at her worn red shortbow. It had served her well but she needed something different. Hell she was lucky that the poor thing hadn't snapped in half already.

His golden eyes widened though he did not seem too surprised by her request. "I do not know of anyone that can craft a bow suitable for a miko. However I do know of an enchanted bow that is guarded by a spirit. I believe it rests on Mt. Azusa."

"Oh well maybe it is worth looking into?" She asked hopefully shooting him a pleading look.

"It is on the way to the Western shiro so we can take a look." He sighed stepping closer to her so that she was glued to his side. "You are truly unlike any female I have ever met before."

"Well I am from the future..." She trailed off sending him a playful glare. Everyday he wormed his way more into her heart it seemed and at this point she didn't even want to fight it. Who would want to?

"My little time traveler." He cooed though it was obvious he was teasing her. "So beautiful and strong... And feisty just like I like me females."

She whacked him on the arm and glared at him. "Overprotective, overpossessive inu...with a doggy complex."

With that the two fell into a bought of affectionate banter. It was refreshing to her after all the bickering she had done with his son in her past. He was never cutting with his words, not did he belittle her in the same way. It was always light and teasing and she loved him for it. And over the next few days she grew to love him even more until she could not deny her feelings. In the short time that they had spent together she had fallen in love with the Inu no Taisho and she had no idea how to react. Everywhere she went he went and strangely enough she didn't have a problem with it like she would have had with Inuyasha. She loved having him so close and she had even taken to sleeping in his arms, and washing him when they bathed. She even started initiating kisses between them which were never rejected. All in all he had thoroughly captivated her and she could only hope that she could keep his interest.

* * *

"So we have to climb those stairs?" She cast the stone stairs that stretched seemingly into the clouds a dubious look. Was there even an end? Only one way to find out and that was to get on with it already. She did after all have a family to meet, though she was not looking forward to it.

"It looks like it. I doubt that the spirit would let us just fly to the top."

"I doubt that it would allow someone not seeking the bow to reach the top at all." She added with a pointed look in his direction before she moved up the first few steps. There was an odd feeling in the air around them, a heaviness that she shrugged off as she traversed through the dense fog.

Step after step she climbed yet she seemed to get nowhere much to her frustration. She felt no closer to the top then she had when she started. "Touga do you..." She trailed off when she turned to face him and he wasn't there. "Touga?!" Panic shot through her at the thought that she was alone in the fog.

"He cannot come here." A familiar voice lilted over her.

She spun around in shock and took in the familiar form of Kikyo. "Kikyo? But you don't exist in this time! How are you even here?"

"You resent me for taking Inuyasha from you do you not?" Kikyo asked unperturbed by Kagome's statement.

Her mouth snapped shut and she rapidly shook her head. "No not anymore! I don't want Inuyasha anymore and I haven't in a long time! As far as I'm concerned he's yours!"

"You wished for me to die so that you could have him didn't you?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I told you that I didn't want him anymore!" She hissed becoming more and more irritated with Kikyo.

"Because you have gone after his father... He reminds you of Inuyasha and you are using him as a replacement for what you cannot have." Kikyo smiled a sadistic smile while she reached out and caressed her cheek.

She jolted at the touch on her skin, and the words that Kikyo had spoken before she came to a realization. "You aren't Kikyo." She declared pushing the cold hand from her cheek.

"Oh and how do you know that? I am a part of you, a part that will always exist in you. A part of you that will always inspire jealousy, and hatred. Because you are nothing more than my copy."

Hurt welled up in her momentarily though she quickly pushed it away. Kikyo had not been this way since she was first resurrected, and at that time the two of them had held no warm feelings for each other. But Kikyo had grown warm again as she had been in life. This was not her. This was the guardian of Mt. Azusa testing her, and whereas when she had been fifteen years old and untrained she would have had a hard time deducing this, she was not a child anymore. She was not jealous of Kikyo anymore. She loved Touga for who he was and she would not use him as Inuyasha had used her. She was not Kikyo and she never had been, she was Kagome and she was not Kikyo's reincarnation. Her remaining bitterness at the undead miko disappeared at her declaration to herself. "I am not Kikyo's copy. I am not her reincarnation! I am Kagome! And I do not hate Kikyo any longer! So your attempts to snare me in a trap are pointless because I will not fall to your tricks! Your attempts to use my memories against me are useless so stand aside and allow me to continue forth."

Without a word the Kikyo look alike turned and continued up the stairs without a backwards glance.

She hurried after her making sure to not lose sight of the dark haired woman. And she only had to follow her for several moments to reach the top of the stairs where a shrine was located. The Kikyo copy lead her into the structure not once saying a word to her as she followed after her. As soon as she stepped into the shrine the object she sought was immediately brought into her line of vision. A beautifully crafted long bow sat on a dias in the middle of the room. Its finish was almost red in color, the bindings on it were neat and pristine unlike her bow. It was long maybe even as long as her body, and the ends curved outward slightly and they were white tipped.

"That is the sacred bow of Mt. Azusa."

She looked over at the Kikyo look alike when she had spoken. "What do you want me to do?"

"Take a hold of it and see if it will accept you."

"Ok." She stepped towards the dias and hesitantly placed a hand over the bow before picking it up, and holding it up for inspection. A great swell of spiritual energy ran through the bow to mingle with her own reiki and she held still waiting to see if the bow accepted her as its wielder. It was odd to have what was supposed to be an inanimate object testing you, but as it poked and prodded at the depths of her soul she decided that she didn't need to question it. It was not uncomfortable as she had expected it to be, it was actually reminiscent of a small push against her. And after several moments the aura of the bow drew back and its power hummed in acknowledgement.

"It has accepted you as its wielder."

When she turned back she was surprised to see that the spirit had taken on a different appearance. Instead of having long black hair as she, and Kikyo had, the spirit instead possessed silver hair similar to that of an inu. Not much else about its appearance had changed, though she supposed that was because the spirit had a blank face.

"I was not sure if you would be able to wield it as you held darkness in your heart due to the other miko. But thanks to the love you feel for the Inu no Taisho you were able to overcome your own malice. You are worthy of wielding the Sacred Bow of Mt. Azusa. May it help you in any endeavors."

"Thank you for allowing me to wield it."

"I do not allow anyone to wield it. My purpose is to protect it, and ensure that those who would attempt to wield it are worthy. Only the bow itself can choose a wielder. But I digress, and your intended is waiting for you. You should go to him before he attempts to take the entire Mountain down."

"Oh I forgot about him!" She rushed to the door with her new aquisition in her hands. "Thank you again!" She called over her shoulder before she dashed down the stairs which were oddly clear of the strange fog from earlier. As she got near the bottom she could hear furious snarls, and growls that echoed across the expanse of the surrounding area. She sweatdropped at Touga's overprotectiveness. If he had not been allowed into the spirit's domain, why would Ryukoutsei? Or any youkai for that matter? When she got to the bottom of the stairs she zoned in on Touga's back as he tore through several trees with Tetsusaiga. Maybe he was more like Inuyasha then she thought... "Touga?"

And just like that his head whipped around and his red eyes locked on her. In a second he was in front of her and without even pausing to sheath Tetsusaiga he gathered her into his arms and nuzzled her. Little growls of displeasure escaped from his lips while he nuzzled, and sniffed at her. And once he was sure that she was fine he drew back, and eyes still haloed in red he slammed his lips down on hers.

She squeaked in surprise at the suddenness of that attack though she responded by tilting her head and opening her mouth so that he could snake his tongue in to brush against hers. She moaned and fisted her hands in his hair to pull him to her more fervently. She drew his tongue to hers and sucked on it while she ran the tip of her tongue over his fangs. It was surprising that she was so fascinated with playing with them though she would not deny that they made her shudder with pleasure with every pass over them. She would have been content to stay there all day and continue doing what they were doing but all good things must come to an end and she hesitantly pulled back to break contact. "Uh while I don't mind spending all day doing this, we do have to get going. I do have a family and an ex lover to piss off and I can't do that standing here."

He sighed with reluctance before sheathing Tetsusaiga and forming his youki cloud underneath them. "I think that it would be best if we shared a room if we decide to stay at the Western shiro. That way I can be with you as you sleep."

"Well I'm already used to sleeping with you after the last few days, so I guess I'm ok with it. And I don't really want to have anyone sneaking into my rooms at night for whatever reason. Though I would be more worried about them seeing as how my reiki is more active while I sleep. They're liable to get blasted or something."

"Well that is why I will stay with you."

"It does make me feel better though maybe it would be best to leave the following morning?"

"Agreed."

* * *

The Western shiro was everything that she was expecting from its massive wooden gate as you entered it, to the winding gardens, all the way to the massive body of the main shiro. It closely resembled a ningen shiro though it was many times larger, and with much more detail put into the construction. The grounds radiated with magic though without further inspection she could not deduce what kind of magic it was. She barely had time to take everything in before he proceeded to land.

As he sat down and settled her to her feet a beautiful inu youkai stepped out of the shiro. "Mother." Touga greeted warmly obviously glad to see her, at least for now.

"Touga my son it is good to see you." The female responded though her eyes were roving over her.

While this woman was taking her in she was doing the same to her. She took in the long silver hair that fell to her waist, the elegant almond shaped golden eyes, to the delicate pink lips that were pursed in contemplation. She was definitely beautiful though that was to be expected seeing as how she was Touga's mother.

"You have brought a miko to our shiro? And by the smell of her she is more than a casual companion."

"She is this one's intended." Touga stepped closer to her and pulled her into his side. "Her name is Kagome and she is a miko of great power."

"So I see." His mother mused though she did not seem displeased. "Your father, and Sesshomaru will not be happy. Nor will Inukimi though I suspect that it will be jealousy speaking on her part."

"So you are not displeased?"

"I hold no hated for ningens my son. Where do you think you inherited that trait from?" She laughed before she stepped forward to greet Kagome formally. "My name is Masami."

She quickly pushed aside her shock that a member of his family was treating her with kindness so that she could respond. "Ah nice to meet you Masami-sama." She bowed to the female at the waist before she straightened back up.

"Please call me Masami, the sama is not necessary." She laughed before her expression suddenly became serious. "My mate, and grandpup will not be so welcoming as I have been and I apologize for that in advance. They do not possess our affection for ningens." She turned warm eyes on Touga who was still standing by silently.

"That begs the question mother, why are you so accepting of Kagome? Did you not want me to mate Inukimi?"

"At one time I did because she was the only unmated inu bitch in existence. But as time went on I saw that you held no feelings for her, and the last straw was when you offered her the breeding contract. It was then that I knew that there was no future for you two. At first I was not happy but I got over it quickly. As your mother I want you to be happy above all else so I never pushed it after that."

"I am happy to hear that mother. Now perhaps it would be best to take Kagome in and get the introductions over with."

The two of them shared a look before Masami turned and led them into the shiro. She stayed right next to Touga as they passed by servants, and nobles who were all staring at her with narrow eyes. It didn't make her feel comfortable at all and she subconsciously molded herself further into Touga's side, and when his arm came down to wrap around her she risked a look up at him to see that he was watching her closely. She offered him a nervous smile and a shake of her head as if to say 'later'.

He nodded as they finally came to a halt outside of a large set of intricately carved wooden doors. "My father, and Sesshomaru are inside."

She nodded and stood straighter as Masami pulled the doors open and led them inside. The first thing she took notice of was Sesshomaru who looked much the same as he had when she had known him. The same coldness sat in those icy golden eyes as he regarded her with obvious disdain. The next thing she took notice of was the large Inu Daiyoukai sitting in the center of the raised platform. He looked a lot like Touga though his countenance was much more cold. The disdain rolled off of him in waves, and it bordered on outright hatred.

"Who is this filthy ningen miko who dares to enter my shiro?"

She resisted the urge to wince at his booming voice, it would not do to let him see her nervousness. And it also would not do to let him walk all over her so she steeled herself and stepped forward much to everyone's shock. "My name is Kagome and it is an honor to meet Touga's father." She stood back up and met his eyes unflinchingly.

He stood and stalked towards her despite the warning growl Touga emitted. "My name is Takeshi." He growled out and circled her like a predator looking for a weakness.

"Well then it's a pleasure to meet you Takeshi-sama" She corrected herself while she watched him from under her lashes. What did he think he was going to make her melt into a quivering mess by sniffing at her?

"The scent of my son is heavy on you why is that?"

So he wanted to interrogate her did he? Little did he know she was beyond used to dealing with people like him. "Because his beast chose me as his intended mate." She answered in an unwavering voice.

And just like that the atmosphere in the room changed drastically. Outright anger, and disbelief radiated off of Takeshi, and even Sesshomaru. "You...a filthy ningen miko...think to seduce my son? There is no way that any self respecting youkai would take a miko whore to be their mate."

She held up a hand to silence Touga when his snarl bounced off of the walls of the room. She needed to do this herself or else his father would never respect her. "I am not his whore, nor will I ever be anyone's whore Takeshi-SAMA!" She spat emphasising the honorific in a biting way. And before he could even start up with belittling her again she continued on right over him. "And as for being a filthy ningen miko that I am guilty of though I did not choose this path. So you can no more hold it over me, than I can hold being youkai over you. Now if you would like to be treated with respect by me, then I suggest that you treat me at least civilly okay?" Dead silence greeted her words from everyone in the room, though their auras radiated everything from shock, surprise, to anger.

A loud snarl and a massive burst of youki resounded from right behind her and she barely had time to erect a barrier to block a glowing set of claws. "Bitch! You dare to enter my shiro and order me around?" Takeshi roared eyes completely red with his elevated youki.

She winced from the impact though her barrier did not falter at all. "You dare to belittle me for the circumstances of my birth? In my opinion those who do that are just asking to have the gesture returned. Now you can withdraw your attack before Touga kills you, or before I blast you with enough reiki to burn your skin right off." She hissed dangerously, her barrier lighting up with her emotions.

Before the male could even think on her request he was roughly grabbed and slammed into the floor of the throne room by his enraged son.

"You will not attack my intended father!" Touga snarled his own youki flowing freely and clashing against his father's powerful aura. Though it easily overwhelmed it in seconds and the older male submitted, albeit reluctantly.

She let her reiki recede back into her body though she was still tensed in case Sesshomaru tried to attack. And if she was being honest she was surprised that he hadn't yet. The thought passed by as quickly as it had come. She needed to get a handle on the situation before it went too far. "Touga that's enough let him go."

He turned red haloed eyes her way before he reluctantly released his father to come stand by her protectively. "She is mine! And if anyone attacks what is mine there will be hell to pay! That goes for everyone who would think to harm her."

"You would take a ningen over a pure blooded inu bitch? You would take this miko over mother?"

She started at Sesshomaru's voice before she turned and faced him. "My name is Kagome, and I'm pretty sure that he just said that."

He glared at her coldly before he dismissed her by turning to his father. "She is nothing but a mouthy, ill tempered ningen. Mother is a much better choice for one of your power."

"My beast holds no affection for your mother Sesshomaru or he would have chosen her. And you would do well to treat my intended with respect. She will be the Western Lady soon."

At that Sesshomaru snarled outright and his eyes bled red, his stripes turning jagged. "I am soon to be the Western Lord and I will not allow her to have any control over my domain."

"Do you truly believe that I will allow you to take over for me as you are?" Touga asked seriously. "Do you not see this for what it is?"

"What are you speaking about father?"

"This is merely a test to see if you are ready to become the Western Lord Sesshomaru. And at this point I am not convinced that you are ready to take over for me."

"You would deny me my birthright for a ningen miko?" Sesshomaru spat his face distorted in livid rage.

"No my son I would not. But I would deny you if I felt that you would not be a fair ruler. As the Western Lord you rule over the ningens on these lands as well and you must treat them with equal favor. And as you cannot seem to do that, I can safely say that I will remain the Western Lord for quite some time. Well until, and if you can gain enough power to defeat me. Though that is unlikely."

She had never seen Sesshomaru so enraged before, usually he was calm and collected face betraying nothing of his inner thoughts. But this Sesshomaru was so enraged his eyes had changed with his elevated youki, and a snarl was twisting at the corner of his lips. And his anger was being equally directed at her. Thankfully Masami cut in between the mess before any blood could be spilled, namely Sesshomaru's.

"That is enough of this posturing." She demanded as she came to stand between all of them. "It is not getting any of you anywhere so it is pointless. Now calm yourself Sesshomaru and behave as a proper Daiyoukai should."

Instead of doing that Sesshomaru flashed out of the room with a loud resounding snarl.

Well she had never thought to see Sesshomaru acting like a spoiled child who hadn't got his way. Though she had to say if she could talk to Inuyasha and tell him the hanyou would be laughing so hard he would piss himself. She giggled at the train of her thoughts before she was drawn out of them by Touga asking her something. "What?"

He chuckled and nuzzled her hair affectionately. "I said would you like to retire to my room?"

That actually sounded good but fate had other plans for them it seemed because at that moment another inu female flashed into the room, her aura spiked with rage. "TOUGA HOW COULD YOU TAKE A NINGEN FEMALE OVER ME?!" She screeched the sound echoing and making everyone's ears ring.

"Inukimi." Touga greeted dryly.

She had to say that Sesshomaru's mother looked just like her son, though she was feminine and beautiful, unearthly so. The only difference in their appearance was that she was a good deal shorter, and her hair was held up in two pigtails at the top of her head. Once she was finished with her perusal of the female she answered the earlier question. "Because his beast chose me." The urge to say 'so get over it' was strong though she managed to bite her tongue.

Inukimi whirled on her and snarled viciously. "I was not asking you ningen! He was mine first!"

Rage coursed through her and she stepped up into the other female's space and thrusted her face into hers. "Well he's mine now! You have no chance of taking him from this lowly ningen miko so to continue to try would just make you look pathetic, and desperate. So why don't you gather your pride and walk away before I purify you?!"

"You purify me?! Do you know who I am? I am the heir to the Poison Clan!"

She rolled her eyes at the other female and eyed her dubiously. "And that means nothing to me. So you had best back off before I make good on my earlier promise." And just to egg the other female on she started examining her nails as if a highly enraged Daiyoukai was not standing in front of her threatening her.

That was more than enough to set Inukimi off and she lunged at Kagome. Not that it got her anywhere when she slammed into a powerful barrier that knocked her back. "BITCH!"

"Look I could stand here all day long and do this. But why would I? Come at me again and I will put you out." And she would too. But before the other female could push her Touga stepped in between them.

"Enough is enough Inukimi. Kagome is my intended and nothing you do will change that. It would be best if you heeded her words and went your own way because if you attack her again I will put you in your place."

"But Touga I thought that you cared for me? I bore you an heir! How can you treat me this way?"

"You and I will never be anything more than we are now." He answered her before he gathered Kagome into his arms. "Kagome and I will stay in the same room tonight. At first light tomorrow we will leave to head back to my shiro."

Masami looked saddened at that but after a moment she perked up. "That reminds me that after all of these years I still have not seen your private shiro. Perhaps this would be a good time to come and visit as I do not have any pressing matters to attend to."

"Of course that would be most acceptable mother. I have always enjoyed your company as I am sure you know. And I believe that Kagome would enjoy your company as well, since you are the only member of the family that accepted her."

"Masami you actually like that whey-faced ningen?" Takeshi spat obviously still angered by the whole ordeal.

"As a matter of fact I do. If you had paid more attention to me over the last few millenia you would have seen that I did not share your disgust for ningens. I find her company quite enjoyable."

Well if Touga's mother liked her enough to want to spend time with her she guessed that she could live with it. Not to mention that her personality was actually quite pleasant. It was obvious that Touga's personality had been inspired by her. Though one thing tugged on her mind. Why had she not taken care of Inuyasha? But as she looked at Takeshi who was still glaring at her she figured that Inuyasha's chances of survival were better on the outside... Maybe Masami had known this. Even so she was looking forward to getting to know her soon-to-be mother in law...

* * *

His blood was still boiling after the altercation between him and his father. He just could not fathom that his sire would attack his intended mate even knowing who she was. And as he watched her step into the room in her bathing yukata he decided that the claiming ritual would have to be pushed forward. With everything out to get the small female he loved he could not take any chances. And especially not since Ryuukotsusei was seeking her for similar reasons. That dragon would not be allowed to possess her, and if he challenged him for her there would be much bloodshed.

"What are you thinking about Touga?"

He shook his thoughts away when she knelt in front of him. "I was just thinking that perhaps I should claim you sooner than we had originally planned."

Surprise flashed through her eyes for a moment before she blushed. "Uhh but we haven't even known each other that long... Does it have to be really soon?" She asked while she fidgeted with her yukata.

Her shyness really was endearing to him even if it forced him to go against his instincts, which were screaming at him to take her now. He would never take an unwilling female, and especially not her. That being said she needed to know his reasons for wanting to move faster. "Ryuukotsusei is after you for reasons that are similar to mine."

"There's no way that he could be attracted to me like that Touga. I mean I met him in the future and he tried to kill me."

"Remember Kagome this is a different time, with beings who are of different mindsets then the ones that you knew. That Ryuukotsusei may not have taken notice of you as this one has. And there are various reasons for why that could be. One being that you are much stronger then you used to be. You are whole where before you were missing a part of yourself. Dragons are drawn to power more so than other youkai so it is no surprise that he desires you. You are the only being alive that rivals the two of us in power."

"So he wants to mate me? That is so gross..." She shuddered and looked as if she may become physically ill.

"I agree that the idea is indeed gross, and that is why I wish to claim you before we meet him again. That way he cannot simply steal you away from me, he must challenge me to a battle over you. And that is a battle that he will not win."

"So you are saying that when I mate you I will be unable to mate anyone else right?"

"Yes that is correct."

"But if someone defeats you in battle they can take me?"

"That is also correct, though you must be strong enough to endure having my mark removed so that another may mark you. Not many females are so males rarely challenge for a mated female. But you my dear are strong enough to survive it so he will challenge me for you at some point."

"That's bullshit! Don't I get a say in any of this?" She spat her face flushing in anger. "Youkais and their rudimentary way of thinking! Oh she's not his so I can take her! What am I a piece of land?"

"To other males yes you are. What is not claimed by one can be claimed by another, and what is claimed can always be stolen if it benefits the thief." He rumbled in displeasure at the thought.

"Oh if I don't purify first and ask questions later!"

He made a face at the odd phrasing before he pulled her to him. "And that my dear is why I wish to claim you now. Because when we mate out power will grow stronger, and he will not be able to oppose me any longer. No male will be able to come close to stealing you away from me. So I ask that you please consider my request. I am not saying that we will mate tonight, or even in the following nights. I am asking that you do not make me wait for months as ningens tend to do. The sooner we mate the better." He sniffed at her hair and shuddered. "Yes the sooner the better indeed."

"I'll think about it okay?"

"Very well then. Now sleep as you must be very tired from the day's events." He laid down with her on his chest and covered her with mokomoko which had quickly become her favorite covering. Her breathing evened out quickly though he stayed awake for a few moments to watch her sleep. She looked so beautiful that it made him ache to be so close, and yet to have to hold back. Hopefully she would not make him wait to have her because he did not know how long he could hold out.

* * *

R&R and let me know what you thought. Oh and I realized that I was spelling Ryuukotsusei wrong so I corrected that starting this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

I wish that I had something of importance to impart...Alas I do not... Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Lemon alert!

* * *

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief when she and Touga landed in the courtyard of his shiro. They had high tailed it out of the Western shiro at first light after speaking to Masami. She had several things that needed tending so she would not be coming to the s hiro for several more days. So that left Kagome and Touga to sit around and do nothing until she got there. Well she normally would think that but after what Touga had said to her the night before she doubted that nothing would be going on. The looks he was shooting her definitely didn't help either. It was like he wanted to eat her... Now she couldn't say that she wasn't taking him in as ardently as he was her, but she was a virgin, and she was not overly knowledgable on sex. So her reaction was to blush and stutter like an idiot whenever she caught that look from him, and he would smirk knowingly at her.

He set her on her feet and guided his hand to the small of her back. "Is there something on your mind?"

She glanced up and caught that same hot look directed at her and it had her body raving with fire. "Oh I was just thinking about what you said... I need to think about it so I will talk to you later okay?"

A look of excitement flashed through his eyes before he quickly masked it. "Of course take all the time you need. You need only call for me should you need to talk to me."

Her spine shivered and she stuttered out something unintelligible before she turned and entered the shiro. Her thoughts were racing around so fast that her head ached. Never had she garnered so much attention from such a desirable male before, and after everything that Inuyasha had put her through it was almost cleansing. Staying here with Touga was building up the confidence that she lost when she traveled with his son. She couldn't count the things that she loved about him. His thoughtfulness, his compassion, intelligence, strength. She could name them all day and she would never say them all.

She reached her room and slid open the shoji before stalking inside and sitting Azusa against her wall. Once she was done she shrugged out of her miko garbs and donned a thin sleeping yukata before laying back on her futon. "What did I ever do to deserve him?"

It wasn't like she didn't deserve a good man. She knew that she did, though she never thought that she would get one as god like as Touga was. Though that fact would be openly disputed by his son should she ever meet his future self again. Honestly Inuyasha just didn't want to lose what he considered his, even if it wasn't actually his. When she had told him that she didn't love him anymore he had lost it and refused to talk to her for several days. It had taken them some time to patch up their friendship after that as he had often been combative, aggressive, and even more possessive. She had quickly shut down his possessiveness with a few well placed sits, and then she had explained to him that she would not stand for his possessiveness anymore, he had his chance and he missed it. Needless to say their relationship had never been the same as it was now him pining after her, and her not returning his love. But with Touga he had chosen her and he would not look back, nor would he stray from her as he had shown already. So why was she so nervous of giving herself to him? Was it virginal fear? Or was it the fear of him getting bored with her after the centuries had gone by? Or maybe it was the fact that she was afraid of him meeting Izayoi and deciding he wanted the hime more. He had said that a female could have her mark removed, and he did say that she was strong enough to endure it.

A knock on the shoji drew her attention to the door where she sensed Touga's familiar aura. "Come in."

The door slid open and in stepped Touga wearing a frown on his face. "Your aura is disturbed." He started while he closed the door and walked briskly over to her. "What unsettles your mind so?" He laid down next to her and pulled her into his chest.

Would he be angry at her for what was on her mind? Her eyes met his and gazed deeply into their depths seeing concern, and confusion in them. "You wouldn't ever remove my mark for someone else would you?"

He recoiled in horror before his countenance became angry. "No I would not ever do that! When I mark a female it is for good. You need not worry about me ever doing something like that."

She slumped into the mattress when he started up a soothing growl while he ran his fingers through her hair. "I was worried that you would regret meeting me. Inuyasha did at one point because it meant that he couldn't be with Kikyo. I guess I can't get over his betrayals completely, even though I don't care for him like that anymore."

"Hn. The boy sounds like quite the insensitive pup did I teach him nothing?"

"No you didn't." Pain raved through her and she quickly clamped down on it. Before he could think on it too much she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. After the first contact she attacked him with fiery nips, that she quickly soothed with her small tongue. Using her left arm she lifted herself up so that she was laying on top of him, while her hands quickly moved to pry his haori, and undershirt open. Once all the flesh was opened for her attentions she separated herself from his lips and worked her way down to his chest, biting, licking, and leaving opened mouth kisses until she arrived at his pectorals and took one of his nipples between her teeth.

He released a sharp hissing sound and growled. "Woman you are testing the boundaries of my control... If you do not wish to be claimed you will cease immediately."

She pondered it for a moment before she switched to the other nipple and bit down even harder, while her right hand slinked down his body to play with him through his hakamas. Releasing him with a small pop she journeyed farther down his body leaving open mouthed kisses across his abs before she reached the ties on his hakamas. With deft hands she pulled them apart and slid the garments down his muscled legs. And her eyes promptly bugged out at the size of him. He was the size of her forearm and not just in length!

"Uhhh you do realize that I am small, and that is huge right? It will not fit." Even as she said this though her hands came down to stroke him tentatively.

"Inukimi is only a little larger than you and she was also a virgin when when conceived Sesshomaru together, and she was able to take me. You will manage to take me as well. That is if you are relenting and allowing me to mate you now. If not you should release me and allow me to get dressed."

A small flash of jealousy shot through her but she stamped it out as quickly as it had come in the face of his obvious desire to mate her. Was she ready? She stilled her hands and met his eyes. There was warmth, and adoration shining in their depths. It was like he was looking at a goddess and it made her feel empowered. So never breaking eye contact she lowered her head and took as much of him as she could into her mouth.

"What are you doing?" He grunted out in pleasure.

She slapped his thigh to silence him before she started bobbing her head up and down. With his large size it was difficult but she found that she liked the fact that he stretched her jaws to the point of pain. It caused pleasant jolts to gather in her stomach and she groaned and rubbed her thighs together. She brought her hands up and stroked the large part of him that she couldn't fit in her mouth and she reveled in the grunts, and growls invading her ears. Large hands fisted in her hair and yanked on it and she glanced up and met red rimmed eyes.

"I want to release inside of your body. Come." He ordered in a husky voice.

With a disappointed whine she released him and settled herself onto her back while he moved to hover over her. "I was enjoying myself." She pouted while he yanked her yukata off of her with haste.

"As was I though there will always be time for things like this later. I have waited long enough to claim you." He rumbled as he eyed her naked form. "Perfection." He leaned down and returned the attention to her breasts that she had bestowed him with.

At the first moment her bud was enveloped in his warm mouth she arched and cried out before she clamped her hands onto the back of his head to hold him down. His tongue wrapped around her bud before he brushed his fang over it causing her to actually scream. She arched her body so that his length ran over her clit while she forced his head to her other breast, screaming when he enveloped it as he had the first one. She grinded herself into his length driving herself higher and higher towards a release that she had never experienced. And just when she reached the precipice he pulled away from her mounds and smirked down at her. "WHY DID YOU STOP?!" She screamed in outrage slamming her fists down onto the bed.

Without answering her verbally he ghosted down her body to lay between her legs. "Your first, and last release as a virgin will be devoured by me."

She tensed and screamed when she felt his tongue attack her clit with a vengeance. With renewed vigor she clutched at his head while she rode out the strokes of his tongue with vicious gyrations of her hips. He was everywhere licking her bundle, delving into her with his tongue, and laving the opening with strong forceful licks. And through it all she thrashed, and cried for him to finish her. And when she felt two of his long digits enter her and start thrusting into her rapidly she flopped back and just let him do what he wanted. He drove her up in strong practiced movements while he growled and snarled at the taste of her. The coil in her stomach tightened to border on pain and she felt as though he wasn't moving fast enough for her, so with a tightening of her thighs over his head she rolled and he had to follow her to avoid having to release her. She quickly took advantage of his stupor and started gyrating into his still probing tongue with much more speed than he was using to torture her. Meeting his wide eyes that were staring up at her in wonder, she offered him a sultry smirk before focusing on her release. With her rapid movements her stomach tightened in seconds and she threw her head back and rode his face until her orgasm shot through her like a tsunami. She came with a shrill scream, her hips gyrating into his face so fast that she was afraid that she would break his nose. Though from the growl reverberating through her apex she deduced through the haze of her mind that he was far from pain. She rode the waves out with tears running down her cheeks before she fell back and collapsed on her back over his stomach. She panted and gasped for air as his tongue lapped at her to clean her essence up from her. When he was done she felt her body move until he was above her looking down at her though she had no recollection of seeing him move.

"You taste divine." He licked his still wet lips for emphasis before he brought his body flush against hers.

When his heavy erection came to rest against her thigh she started to get nervous. She still seriously doubted that it would fit inside of her, but by the looks of it he would not go back now. Not that she would ever ask him to. So she relaxed as much as she could when he brought himself to her entrance and slipped inside. A pained whimper escaped her lips at the burning pain that accompanied his invasion. Her walls were being stretched in ways that she could not even comprehend, and by all the hells did it hurt.

"Relax and it will be easier." He cooed though he did not stop his descent.

"Just go fast and get it over with." She whimpered while she focused on opening up to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." No sooner had she said that he had thrust the rest of the way into her body. She cried out tears once more escaping from her eyes. She burned and at this point it was not in a good way at all. Her body had tensed back up and was trying to force him out though he was not budging an inch.

"Relax and the pain will go away." He purred and nuzzled into her cheek.

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his rough tongue cleaning her tears from her cheeks. It was oddly soothing and she found herself relaxing despite her discomfort, and as she relaxed the pain did indeed lessen drastically. A pleasant warmth was left behind after the burning receded and she whimpered and thrusted her hips experimentally. Pleasant jolts raced through her and she moaned softly before she repeated the motion. She opened her eyes and took in his clenched jaw, and eyes that were screwed shut. "You can move now."

His eyes popped open and he met her eyes to assess her pain before he sighed in relief and withdrew his hips before slamming them back into her.

She gasped and arched up into his body wrapping her arms around his back to hold him to her. "More." She pleaded and she was not disappointed when he quickly gave into her demands and stared pounding into her. She screamed and thrusted back into him with every move he made, her nails raking down his back and making him snarl in time with each thrust. Liquid fire was ablaze in her blood and she had never felt so hot in her life. Her hips kept time with his as best she could while she brought her mouth to his chest and took one of his nipples into her mouth and sucked on it. He snarled and increased his pace lifting her thighs up so that she was more open to him. A whimper escaped her when he hit her womb and the action caused the most painfully pleasant sensation to race through her. "There! Hit there again!" She ordered against his chest before she took him into her mouth again. He did not disappoint either as he quickly found that spot and started hitting it on every thrust. The pleasure got so intense that she couldn't even keep her mouth shut to lavish her attention on him. So her head fell back and her body arched into him until she felt as through she would break in half.

"Bite my shoulder when I bite yours." He panted while he raised his hand and slashed at his shoulder with one of his claws.

She nodded too lost for words against all of the pleasure coursing through her. Reaching up she pulled his head to hers and slammed her lips over his, her tongue quickly invading his mouth with a vengeance. In her time saliva was though to be an aphrodisiac of sorts, so sharing it during sex was said to take your pleasure higher. So she ravished his mouth and indeed the fire did burn even hotter for her at least. She whimpered into his mouth as the muscles in her abdomen tightened and clenched painfully. His thrusts picked up even more in force and speed to drive her towards the release she desperately sought. Her eyes clenched shut tightly as the first wave of her orgasm shot through her body making her scream. She was so far gone at this point that she did not even realize that he pulled away from her lips as her orgasm crashed through her, before tensing and groaning as his shot through him. When he shot forward and buried his fangs into her neck she barely remembered that she had to do the same, and she followed his lead clumsily. Her vision blurred and blackened and she desperately clung to consciousness though it was to no avail. It consumed her and she fell back in unconsciousness.

* * *

Of all the things that he had done in his long life, he had never mated a female into unconsciousness before. But as he laid next to his new mate he decided that she was unlike any female he had ever been with before. He wondered vaguely if she would act as shy when she woke up and remembered what they did. She had slept through the night without moving at all. Had he really worn her out so much? He rolled onto his back and pulled her to rest atop him so that he could rub her back. He felt complete for the first time in his life. In truth he had felt this way since he had first seen her at the bottom of that dank well. Even dirty and afraid she had been unearthly beautiful to him. And now she was his until this world came to an end.

She shifted and moaned feeling around at her surroundings. "Mmmm Sango did I sit Inuyasha and myself by accident again...?"

He laughed softly before he ran his claws through her hair. "No Love you did not sit my future son. Though this one wonders how you could possibly sit yourself and him at the same time."

Just like he thought her head shot up and she stared at him wide eyed. "Wh-What are you doing in my room? This is not approriate...behavior... Oh..." She trailed off as the events of last night shot through her head. "I guess we don't need to worry about what is appropriate and what is not anymore huh?"

"No I would say that we do not." He sat up and pulled her to sit against his chest. "And from this day forward you will sleep in my rooms."

"M'kay." She yawned cutely and stretched like a kitten who had basked in the same spot for too long. "So what do we do now that Ryuukotsusei can't just take me?"

He smiled lecherously and grabbed her pert bottom in his large hands. "I can think of many things that we can do now that we are mated."

She eeped and blushed a vicious shade of red before she slapped his chest. "Not now you horndog! Jeez Kagome needs to eat unlike you!"

"I do eat. I just like to eat you more than I like to eat food."

"Well Kagome needs real food before she starves to death." She glared at him before she stood and stalked over to her wardrobe to pull a blue kimono from its depths.

When he moved to grab her and throw her back down she growled at him rather impressively for a ningen, and he sullked before he allowed her to dress herself. "There is always tonight. And tomorrow night, and the night after, and-!"

"Ok I get that you will be ravaging me every night for the rest of our lives! Well when I'm not on my period that is."

"What is this period you speak of?" He asked having never heard the term before. The scent of her embarrassment permeated the air and he raised his brows at her.

"Uhh it's when ningen females bleeds...from down there." She blushed and held up her kimono to block her face from his sight.

"Ahhh I see. No I would not press you to mate during that time as I have heard that it is sometimes very uncomfortable for the female. Not to mention messy." He left out the part that she would most likely not be having this 'period' since he planned on pupping her soon. Her scent was already changing and he would be surprised if their coupling from last night did not yield pups.

* * *

Honestly she didn't know whether to be irritated with the looks she received from the servants, or irritated at her new mate for refusing to keep his hands to himself. Everywhere she went he was right with her touching her butt, or in some cases her breasts. And what was worse was the fact that he didn't seem to care if his servants saw or not. As she slapped his hands away for the millionth time that day she turned a harsh glare at some of the snickering servants who walked by, before she turned to her closet-pervert-mate. "Would you be so kind as to stop groping me around others? I was raised to see it as a sign of disrespect so it makes me uncomfortable. Behind closed doors it's open season to grope me, but around your servants I would appreciate a little subtly."

He pouted rather impressively for a 6'4 inu Daiyoukai. "Inus males are always openly affectionate with their bitch. Are you saying that I cannot be affectionate with you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him while her lips fell into a scowl. "You are being a pervert Touga! You're not showing affection in an acceptable way. Now if you want to be affectionate with me you can hold me, or kiss me. Groping is not acceptable!"

"Fine I will behave myself." He pulled her into his lap and nuzzled into her hair. "You smell wonderful when you are covered in my scent."

She hmmed and pressed herself further into him, only to stop short when she felt his hand groping her butt again. "TOUGA..." She hissed glaring up at him viciously.

"No one can see it so relax." He cooed his hand tightening around her right butt cheek. "As long as no one sees it you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You! If you don't cut it out then I will barricade myself in my room and erect a barrier to keep you out! And I will stay in there until you learn some manners!"

At once he stopped groping her so that he could growl at her instead. "No you will not Love. To threaten to keep me from you is unwise on your part as I will never allow anyone, or anything to keep me from you. I will assault any barrier relentlessly until I can get to you again, and once I had you I would have you on your knees begging me to never let you do something like that again."

She flushed and stuttered in embarrassment before her jaw snapped shut with an audible click. "So I can't have any privacy is that what you're saying?"

"Yes." He answered back bluntly.

Her hackles raised and she raised her aura in challenge. "Ningen females need their privacy TO-U-GA! And Kagome especially needs her privacy so you will allow me to have time to myself!" She huffed and turned away from him with a pout pulling at her lips. "Stupid possessive inus and their mine complexes! Never letting me have any Kagome time... And now I have an inu version of Miroku following me around everywhere! It was bad enough being the target of Miroku's wandering hands..."

"Another male touched you?"

"Yes though he groped every female in the general vicinity, not just me. In fact he started groping my friend Sango almost exclusively after she joined. Though I did still get the occasional wandering hand... Why?"

"You are mine to touch! Mine and only mine! No other male will ever be allowed to touch you without my permission! And should they touch anything in a sexual manner they will die!"

She sweatdropped and turned wide eyes on her seething mate. His eyes were bleeding red and his fangs were bared in a snarl. "Uhh Touga Miroku isn't even born yet, and he won't be for almost three hundred years. And when we meet him he could be entirely different then he was when I knew him. So if we meet him you will not attack him for something that this Miroku didn't do!"

His snarl spread wider and he growled deep from his chest. "Only if he keeps his hands to himself."

"Even if he doesn't you can't kill him! Promise me that you will let him live!" She demanded jerking his face into hers to glare at him heatedly.

After obvious hesitation he sighed and nodded though he was obviously not happy about it. "Fine..."

"Thank you." She leaned up to give him his reward. Her lips pressed against his firmly and she sighed in contentedness at the contact of his warm lips against hers. A shockwave of need raced through her and she was surprised at how much she craved him. She always had but now that they were bonded it was much worse, and she was tempted to have him take her back to his room and sate her needs. And she would have if one of his guards hadn't come rushing through the door like the devil was on his heels.

"Touga-sama the panther youkai tribe have been sighted on your lands!"

And just like that Touga's whole demeanor changed. With a snarl he stood up and sat her on her feet before he stalked off into the shiro dragging her behind him.

"Touga?"

"Kagemaru is the leader of the Panther Tribe and he is a powerful youkai. If he is here then I will have no choice but to fight him."

"I'll come with you!"

"No you will not. Kagemaru is strong but he is no match for me. I would not endanger you over an enemy that I am more than able to face alone."

"But you promised!"

"Yes I did as long as you were not pupped."

"I'm not pupped!" She protested as he dragged her around another corner towards the throne room.

"Not yet. But you are coming into your heat cycle. I did not sense it last night, but our mating must have sent you into it early because your scent is changing." He looked at her over his shoulder.

She stared back at him before she looked down at her stomach. "But I'm not pupped yet..."

"Your scent will still draw other males in and I will not allow them to come near you. And we did mate last night Love, so it is entirely possible that you will become pupped soon. Would you risk our pup for Kagemaru when I am more than strong enough to handle him?"

"No but..."

He stopped and placed his fingers over her lips. "I will be fine. You will not even have time to miss me before I have returned to you."

Sadness raced through her at their impending separation. "But you promised..."

He warred with himself for several moments before he growled low in his throat. "We will wait until my mother comes before we go after Kagemaru. She will be by your side during the entire encounter from start to finish as your protector while I fight Kagemaru. And Kagome?"

She stopped her victory dance and met his eyes. "Yes?"

"This will not ever happen again do you understand me? The only reason that I am allowing it now is because the entire situation is completely unexpected, and as a newly mated couple we must maintain a certain proximity to each other. Leaving you would be painful for you and I do not wish to put you through that. But you will not engage anyone in battle do you understand me?"

"If they attack me?"

"My mother will protect you."

"And if she needs protecting?" She pressed not at all perturbed.

"Do not push me Love. My mother is powerful enough to fight toe to toe with Kage himself so it is doubtful that the panther youkai would be able to harm her gravely. Do not push me on this or I will be forced to leave you behind. Now if it makes you feel better I can have a group of my soldiers guard you two."

The situation wasn't what she wanted but she would take it. She would follow him even if he tried to leave her behind anyways. Her hands traveled down to her abdomen and she smiled. They would follow him anywhere.

* * *

R&R


	8. Chapter 8

So this weekend was extremely busy for me and that is why there was such a long delay for this chapter and for that I apologize! There wasn't much input for the last chapter and I don't know if you guys were upset that Inuyasha is coming in so soon, and so much earlier in the timeline but this is not the same timeline as you all know. So for those of you who were upset about it I apologize but my decision stands. ANYWAYS ON WITH THE STORY! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Small lemon!

* * *

She squirmed when Touga gently rubbed his large hand over her stomach. It had been almost a week since their mating and still they were waiting on Masami to show up. In that time she had apparently gone into a full heat and her mate had dragged her to their rooms and barricaded them in them for four days. Suffice to say that after that was all over with everyone was sure that she was pregnant. And her being pregnant meant that she had an even more protective, possessive male to deal with. Not that she minded too much if she was being honest. She found herself wanting to cling to him so much that she was worried he would become exasperated with her. "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" She asked after the silence got to be too much.

He looked up at her startled at the sudden question before he sat up straighter and pulled her to him. "It is never a sure thing to tell the gender of a pup before it is born, as the mother's scent, and aura can disrupt the pup's. But I believe that it is a boy."

"I don't think that I have ever seen a female inu before I met your mother, and Inukimi... Why is that?" She asked curiously. Honestly she had never thought of it before now.

"Because inus are almost always male. The odds of a female being born are one out of every ten inus born. My mother was the tenth child of my grandparents, and Inukimi was the eighth child of the poison clan. Female inus are rarities that must be protected when they are found."

"Hmm I wonder why that is... And does it mean that we will never have a daughter? It just makes it seem so unlikely that it will happen." The thought filled her with sadness as she had always wanted a daughter.

"You forget that we have many millenia to try for a daughter. Though with you I feel as if it will come easier than either of us expects." He released a soothing growl to relax her.

It worked too for she soon found herself slumping back against him as fatigue caught up with her. If she was this tired this early she shuddered to think of how she would be later on. Blackness invaded her senses and she willingly succumbed to it instead of fighting it.

He carried his small mate to their bedchambers with gentle arms. Hanyou pregnancies were always hard on the female's body, and this pregnancy would be even more so because of how strong the pup was. The fact that as her pregnancy progressed Kagome would be less able to use her reiki was a factor to consider in as well. Soon she would be completely defenseless, at least until after she gave birth. Her reiki would weaken so that it would not harm the pup, and the remaining reiki would act as a shield to protect him. With Kagome's reiki being so powerful it was no surprise that the process had already started. That meant that she would become increasingly fatigued throughout the coming days, and then the pregnancy itself would drain her later on. His heart went out to her even if he was beyond pleased to have another pup on the way. When he reached his room he slid the shoji open and walked over to the futon to deposit her onto it.

She stirred slightly and groggily blinked her eyes open. "Mmm To where's Souta at?" She slurred before she rolled over onto her side and promptly passed back out.

He chuckled at her before he moved to exit the room. She needed her rest, and he needed to plan out their course of action with his Generals. So with one last look in her direction he closed the shoji behind him, and stopping one of the servants he ordered for her to watch after his mate. Once he was sure that Kagome would be well taken care of he made his way to the war room. It was close to his chambers as per his design, and he reached the room in record time. "Gentlemen." He greeted as he moved to his seat and settled himself down. "Where have the most recent sightings of Kagemaru been?"

"He was last seen on the southern reaches of your lands. That was three days ago and our sources say that they have not yet moved from that position. Perhaps they are waiting for a response from you." Izumo who was a ookami youkai answered for the group.

"Hm... My mother should be arriving soon, and once she is here we shall proceed with a preemptive strike."

"Touga-sama if I may ask, why must we wait for your mother? For every day that we sit here and do nothing, that is another day that your enemy trespasses on your lands." Hayate his trusted bird General was the one who had posed that question.

He sighed and resisted the urge to rub his temples. "As you know I have taken a mate recently." They all nodded and he continued on. "The bond is new and we cannot be separated for long, and she is pupped as well so it is especially taxing for her to be separated from me. I have decided to put her in my mother's care during the battle."

"What if the Lady is harmed during the battle? Surely it is a risk, and a liability to have her there." Izumo shot back distasteful.

He snarled at the ookami and bared his fangs. "She will be protected by my mother, along with a squad of our elite. Her safety is paramount to me over everything else. Should anyone go against my orders, and she suffer injury as a result there will be bloodshed for their disobedience. Remember Izumo, my word is law."

The ookami bit his lips to stop a retort before it was issued. "Very well then. I was merely worried for the Lady's safety." Though anyone could tell that he was not the least bit worried about her.

He sighed and turned back to the rest of his war council. Today was going to be a long, stressful day...

* * *

When she came to it was quiet and she laid there for several moments gathering her surroundings. So she was rightly startled when a female youkai appeared in her line of sight. She had long red hair, and bright yellow eyes. "Where is Touga?"

"Touga-sama is with the war council right now Kagome-sama." She giggled before she stepped back to allow her to sit up. "I am Chikako! Touga-sama ordered me to look after you for today."

"Oh thanks I guess..." She muttered while she languidly stretched before standing up. Now what could she do while she was waiting for him to come back? "What kind of youkai are you?"

"Tora." Chikako giggled while she danced around the room.

She watched the other female with a wistful smile on her face. Something told her that she was going to get along well with this woman. "So Chikako what do you do for fun here?"

That got Chikako's full attention on her. "I like to explore the forest nearby! There's a big lake close by that I love to go swimming in!"

Well swimming sounded good to her if she was being honest. Well soaking was a better description because she doubted that she had more energy right now. "How about we go swimming then? It is rather hot outside and I could use the relaxation time."

Chikako looked uncertain about taking her out of the shiro and she voiced her opinion on the matter. "I do not think that Touga-sama wants you to wander about without him. Perhaps you should wait for him before you go?"

"I will handle him if he gets upset. Just point me in the right direction and I will go alone." She was being stubborn and she knew it, but she really just wanted room to breathe. Touga was sweet, and caring towards her and she loved that, but he could also be overbearing in many ways. He may get angry at her for defying him, but he would never hurt her in his anger so she would chance it. When Chikako sighed and gestured for her to follow she did a victory dance and followed after the tora youkai. What could happen so close to Touga's shiro?

"Wow this is amazing! You found this place?" Kagome gaped in awe at the large lake that's surface resembled a pristine crystal.

"Yes I did. Though I am sure that others have come here over the centuries." Chikako informed her before stripping and stepping into the water.

She hurriedly stripped herself bare and climbed in after her new friend. In ways Chikako reminded her of Sango, though she was much more mischievous than her tajiya friend. She stepped into the cool water and sighed in relief when it instantly cooled her but not to the point of freezing. Once she was standing in the water she quickly submerged herself and wet herself from head to toe before resurfacing. "I love this place already!" She gushed as she tied her hair up into a messy bun.

"I love this place as well. It is always nice to get away from the shiro and all of the stress that accumulates there." Chikako smiled and propped herself up against a smooth rock near the shoreline.

She moved to mirror her new friend's position and sunk down into the water next to her. "Well maybe I can help you with all of that stress by having you serve as my personal servant. I would treat you well, and with familiarity. Thank about it m'kay?"

"I sure will."

And with that they lapsed into total silence each just enjoying the cool water, and the comfortable silence. Birds could be heard chirping in the trees overhead, and the sun was shining down brightly from overhead. There was blue skies for miles around, and nothing could ruin this peaceful day.

Well it did seem that way to her at least, but things never went her way and all too soon her companion's eyes snapped open as a sharp warning snarl escaped from her clenched jaws. "Chikako what is it?"

The tora's bright yellow eyes scanned around the surrounding foliage sharply before zeroing in on one particular patch of trees. "Who goes?" She demanded taking a defensive stance in front of her mistress.

She peeked over her friend's shoulder just as a figure stepped from the treeline. It was a ningen man of all things. His eyes were so dark that they looked black, his hair was a deep ebony color that hung down his shoulders. Something about him sent her instincts into overdrive, like she should know him. And the way he was leering at her despite the enraged youkai growling threateningly at him was disconcerting. "She asked you a question."

The man smirked at her before he proceeded to ignore Chikako altogether. "My name is Magatsuhi miko." He sneered down at her unperturbed by Chikako's sharp snarls.

Her blood ran cold as she stared down Midoriko's killer. He was ningen now, but that would not last for long and she knew it. He would allow the souls of countless youkai to consume him so that he could kill her. Their souls were destined to fight each other and nothing could be done to stop it. And if he was strong enough to fight Midoriko and force her to kill the two of them to stop him, she was royally screwed. Now she actually regretted leaving the shiro without her mate.

"What is your name woman?"

"It's none of your business!" She snapped though inside she was terrified.

"No matter I will find out one day when we meet again."

"No you will not."

She jumped at the sound of the one voice that she had been wanting to hear since the man had first stepped into the clearing. "Touga!" She turned to face her mate as he stepped from the treeline directly behind her. In a second she had scrambled out of the lake and thrown herself at him. He readily accepted her into his arms, nuzzling her hair when he sensed her apparent distress.

"Leave my lands ningen." Touga ordered in a strong threatening voice. "And never think to look upon my female ever again." He added seemingly as an afterthought.

"Of course Touga-sama..." Magatsuhi sneered before he turned and disappeared into the treeline. Not without sparing the frightened female one last leering glance.

"He is gone Kagome."

She slowly peeked out from where she had buried her face in his chest and peered around the space around them. Magatsuhi was gone though her soul was still chilled to unseen proportions. Why was this happening to her? First Ryuukotsusei, and now Magatsuhi? Did Midoriko have this much trouble in her life? She shuddered and melted further into his embrace. Enemies were closing in from all around her and she was practically defenseless against them. Maybe it had not been a good idea to mate, and conceive a child so soon. Though when her hands drifted down and felt her still flat stomach where she hoped that the Inuyasha she had known rested, she couldn't bring herself to regret it.

* * *

To say that he was displeased would be an understatement. He was downright enraged that his mate had wandered from the safety of the shiro without consulting him first. At first he had wanted to reprimand Chikako as he had tasked her with watching his female, but his mate had quickly put a stop to that by saying that she had insisted. So he had dismissed Chikako and now he sat in his bedchambers alone with his female.

She was shifting nervously and plucking at the hem of her kimono, while she simultaneously avoided his gaze. "Are you really that mad?"

"I believe that my emotional state should be apparent Love. You know that you are not to go anywhere without my approval, and especially not while you are pupped. Do you have any idea how worried I was when I arrived back at our room and you were gone? And when I caught your scent leaving the shiro grounds I nearly lost my mind."

She looked at him apologetically before crawling over to him and leaning against his bicep. "I'm sorry... If it makes you feel better I regret leaving in the first place..."

He had already sensed that she regretted her actions though he did not know why. All he knew was that the ningen male was leering at his female with lust in his eyes. It had taken everything in him to resist killing the bastard where he stood. But there was no honor in killing an opponent who was practically defenseless, and that's what a ningen male was to him. Though as his mate's stress failed to evaporate he almost regretted letting the man live. "What worries you so? Your fear has not yet evaporated."

Instead of answering his question she shocked him by asking one that he had not been expecting. "Could you have your guards track him down and kill him?"

He gaped at her like he had never seen her before, and in a way it was like he hadn't. His Kagome had always been against violence in the short time that he had known her. And she had never been the type to actively pursue it, or condone it. "May I ask why?"

"Because he was the one that attacked Midoriko in my timeline. And that means that he will come after me again one day, not as a ningen, but as a hanyou." She looked down ashamed of her suggestion, but it was more than obvious that she was terrified of this male. Or perhaps she was terrified of losing everything because of him.

"I will have the palace guards search the area for him." He placated her before wrapping his arms around her. "He will not harm you I promise."

"Ok..." She was quiet for a moment before speaking up again. "Can we go and visit my mother soon? She deserves to know that she's going to be a grandmother, and Souta will be excited that he's going to be an uncle."

"Of course we can. As soon as Kagemaru and his tribe are dealt with we will go and visit your family."

In an instant the fear evaporated from her scent to be replaced by excitement, before his little mate leaned back and brushed her lips over his chin. "When will your mother be here?"

"She should arrive sometime today." He answered her before he perked up at the first brushes of his mother's familiar youki over his. "It looks like she will be arriving sooner than I expected actually."

That got a very Kagome like reaction from her. "Then let's go and meet her!" She chirped shooting to her feet and taking off into the corridor.

He hurried to follow after her laughing the entire way to the front of the shiro. As soon as he arrived at the front entrance his mother flashed down into the courtyard in light orb form.

"Kagome it is good to see you!" His mother gushed embracing his young mate. As soon as she did that her eyes snapped open and she sniffed vigorously at the juncture of Kagome's neck before she pulled back to stare into her bright blue eyes. "A pup so soon?"

He sauntered up to his mate's side before she could answer her. "It was not expected mother... Mating triggered her heat... Though I cannot bring myself to regret pupping her so soon."

"I see... Well hopefully this pup will be warmer than Sesshomaru. Though with Kagome as his mother I feel that he will be a stark contrast to his older brother." Masami's tone conveyed her pleasure at the idea of another grandpup.

"I find myself hoping for that as well mother." He agreed before he became serious. "I have a favor that I need to ask of you mother."

"Oh and what would that be?"

"The panther tribe have been sighted trespassing on our lands and I must go out to do battle against them. Kagome and I cannot be separated for too long so I am going to take her with me."

"You cannot do that Touga! Not only would she, and the pup be in danger, but it would make her a target for Kagemaru. He would sense her pregnancy as well as her status as your mate! Please let her stay here at the shiro with me, and I will watch out for her." His mother pleaded with obvious worry for his little mate.

"But Touga promised me that he would take me..." Kagome whispered sadness, and despair tinting at her scent.

"I know my daughter but it is not safe for you. Would you risk your pup in a situation that your mate is more than strong enough to handle?"

"I...I just don't want him to leave me behind..." She whimpered clutching at his arm with a desperation that did not surprise him. She was young, and newly mated so her reactions were to be expected. Females often suffered from separation anxiety and that was well known in youkai society.

"Love I know that you are scared that I will not return to you, but I assure you that this will be an easy battle. And my mother has a point about your safety, and the safety of our pup. I would feel much better if you did remain here. That being said I have already planned to take you with us to confront the panther tribe, so the choice is yours. I will keep my promise to take you should you still want to go."

His mother shot him a scathing look that would have had him running had he been younger. "Touga you did not!" She admonished with a snarl pulling at the corners of her lips.

"The promise was that I would tell her when I desired to pup her, so that when a battle came up she would have the choice of participating or not. Since this was not a planned pup I decided to leave the decision to her. Though I told her of my unease at the idea."

"Well I say that as her mother-in-law, she should stay here with me. It is not safe for her to be anywhere near a battlefield."

Even if he agreed with his mother he had told Kagome that she could come if she wished and he would not recant his words. "Well Love? Are you going to stay with my mother here? Or on the battlefield?"

Kagome worried her bottom lip to the point that it almost bled before she turned wide innocent eyes on him. "I'm going with you."

Somehow he had known that she would say that so he merely shrugged at his mother's subsonic growl. "It is her choice mother. You will be with her the whole time as well as a group of my elite guards so there should be nothing to worry about."

Masami huffed and linked her arm through Kagome's before leading her into the shiro. As she passed by him she whispered too low for Kagome to hear. "We will be having a talk later my son."

He did not doubt it.

* * *

The talk consisted of his mother scolding him for spoiling Kagome where it was not needed. And that quickly turned to fawning over their pup, and from that it jumped back to her growling at him that if anything happened to her daughter, and grandpup she would have his head. Needless to say he had left the room flustered, and thoroughly whipped. Afterwards he had quickly sought out his mate in their bedchambers. She was sitting on the futon holding her stomach and talking to the pup inside.

"Your name will be Inuyasha... Do you like that name?" She cooed seemingly not having noticed him yet. "I hope that you aren't quite as rambunctious as him though."

The sight warmed him in more ways than he would like to admit. As he adjusted his hakamas he cursed himself for being so receptive to her, especially since he could not bed her while she was pupped.

"Touga? Tougaaaaaaaaaa?" Kagome sang out waving a hand before his face.

"Yes love?" He chuckled and waved her hand away before pulling her to him.

"You looked distracted... What's on your mind?" Though as she pressed her body closer to his she inadvertently pressed her stomach against his arousal. "Oh...I see." She giggled before she took his hand and tugged him towards the bed.

As soon as he saw the direction that she was leading him he planted his feet and stopped her short. "Kagome I cannot bed you while you are pupped. It could be harmful to him."

She looked at him as if he had grown another head before she proceeded to shrug her kimono off. "Touga where I come from that has been disproven. In fact healers in my time encourage females to have sex during pregnancy. It helps relieve stress, and it is not harmful to the baby as long as the male is not particularly rough."

"Truly? Females have sex while they are pupped in your world?" He asked though he followed her by shedding his own armor, and clothes.

"Yup they really do! In fact it has also been proven that pregnant females have an increased sex drive. They crave sex more while they are pregnant, well in most cases. But that craving would not start for at least a few months. That being said I am new to sex so I crave you with a passion that surprises me sometimes." She laid herself down on the bed and spread herself out before him.

He followed her and laid down so that his chest was pressed against hers while his lips sought hers out immediately. Her scent was already thick with arousal so he snaked one finger down and prodded at her opening to deem that she was more than ready to take him. And once he was sure he moved her up onto her hands and knees before thrusting into her. With haste he started thrusting into her, being sure to keep his thrusts swift, yet gentle so as not to hurt her. She was moaning, and gasping while she bucked her hips back into his. Her scent made him shudder and groan as it spiked with every thrust. He leaned over her back so that his chest was pressed against her back, and his silver hair spilled over around them.

"Touga..." She gasped out at a particularly sharp thrust from him.

With every thrust he twised his hips and gyrated against her. In the early days since their mating he had quickly discovered that Kagome liked this motion in particular. That was fine with him because he had always enjoyed it as well. So he always made sure to incorporate it into every thrust so that her screams would fill his ears.

Which she was doing a good job of right now. She was bucking back against him with so much force that the sound of their flesh slapping together was like a small clap of thunder. And she shocked him by snaking her hand down to play with the bundle of nerves near her opening. Her scent spiked particularly sharp and his eyes nearly rolled back into his head at its potency.

In his momentary lapse of clarity he felt the world shift and all of a sudden he found himself on his back with her over him. Before he could even open his mouth to say anything she silenced him by raising herself up and slowly lowering herself back down. He groaned and lifted his hands to her hips to help her in her motions. Inus were dominant in the bedchambers so this was a new experience for him, and one that he actually found that he enjoyed. For with every downward descent from her, his length was squeezed deliciously, before it hit her womb. And as if sensing his thought she sped up until she was moving at nearly inhuman speed. he was unable to stay completely still for long and his hips quickly joined in with their own sharp ascents into her.

The rocked together, groaning, moaning, and in his case snarling throughout the whole coupling. And faster than he had ever thought possible he felt her tightening around him just as his balls drew up signaling his own release. He leaned up with the quickness of a youkai and attacked the sensitive mark on her neck that signalled her status as his. When his fangs sunk into it Kagome tensed and her body spasmed violently as she screamed her release. Her walls tightened around him so tight that it bordered on painful, and he twitched and bucked up into her with as much restraint as he could muster so as not to hurt her. His release shot through him like a torrent and he snarled into the crook of her neck, before he slumped back against the futon with her on top of him.

"Are you happy that I'm from the future where we know about things like this?" Kagome asked with a cheeky smile after she had regained her breath.

"Yes." He deadpanned as he flipped them over at youkai speed without even separating from her.

Her eyes grew wide and she squeaked. "Again?!"

He let his actions answer her question.

* * *

Sorry for the small lemon but I was in a bit of a rush! Anyways R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

No author's note today! ON WITH THE STORY! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Kagome clutched the length of her bow nervously, though the action seemed to draw Masami's attention to her. Even so she couldn't take her eyes off of Touga from where he stood at the front of the field directly across from the panther tribe that she remembered. The only thing that was different was Kagemaru, and that was because he was in a ningen form right now. His ningen form had long brown hair, sharp piercing yellow eyes, and two sharp fangs hanging over his bottom lip. If she could be honest he was average looking for a youkai. But the way that he was leering at her through the throng of youkai warriors between them was unsettling. "Not another one..." She groaned and half hid herself behind her designated protector.

"Worry not Kagome, this will all be over soon." Masami placated her though she still seemed irritated to have her there.

No sooner had Masami uttered those words then chaos had erupted across the battlefield. Twin swirls of youki had everyone on each side of the army dashing forward and locking blades. But what really drew her attention was the sight of her mate in his true form, with his jaws around the neck of Kagemaru in his real form.

"We should get up off of the ground Kagome. Come" Masami said getting her attention.

She went to her mother-in-law and allowed her to pull her up onto a youki cloud. Her eyes would not leave Touga though he looked to be handling himself just fine, in fact he seemed to have Kagemaru on the run already. So if that was the case, why would the panther tribe come here? It was obvious that their leader was not strong enough to defeat Touga, that was made apparent in seconds. And as she glanced down at the army below them she saw that Touga's army was cutting down the southern army with relative ease. Hell some of them were even calling out bets between enemies. So what was off? What was tugging at her telling her that something was off? A flower petal drifted by her face and she narrowed her eyes on it. Hadn't something like this happened before? She had no time to ponder it before the wind picked up around her, and Masami scattering a sea of cherry blossoms around them. "Shunran!" In all of the chaos she had not seen the four Panther Devas and now what she was forgetting was making complete sense. Though the fragrant cherry blossoms had no effect on her because the remains of her reiki purified the sickly substance. When the blossoms were purified completely she almost breathed easy for a moment, until it became apparent that the blossoms had bewitched several of her elite guards. Though they were inu and highly susceptible to scent, so she supposed that she shouldn't be surprised.

"Shit!"

She turned her head at Masami's angry curse just in time to see her lash out with a youki whip similar to Sesshomaru's. It cut through several of their attackers before the rest found a way around the attack and launched themselves at them.

In retaliation she raised her bow and notched an arrow on it taking aim at Shunran and firing at her. The arrow shot towards her containing much less power than it usually did, though it did its job by forcing her to drop the illusion and jump to safety. Victory was short lived because at that point the rest of the panther devas jumped in, minus Toran, and the battlefield quickly became a shower of fireballs, and lightning strikes courtesy of Karan, and Shuran.

Luckily Masami was very fast and she was able to either dodge of block most of the attacks, and what she couldn't she took onto her own body. All the while she was lashing out with her own power and pushing them back when the opportunity arose.

And despite her orders from her mate she couldn't help but to fire off an arrow every now and again to help force them back. Luckily enough the shockwave of reiki seemed to also wake the turned soldiers up from their illusion induced stupor so they quickly joined in the fight as well. The battlefield was so loud with the snarls of youkai that it was nearly defeaning even to her weak ningen ears. But she had to stay alert because Toran was still running about somewhere waiting to strike, though she had no idea why the panther devas were targeting her. Though she supposed that it didn't matter what their master wanted her for because he was quickly being ravaged by Touga, though her mate had sustained several deep injuries as well. Still the losing side was more than apparent. She was so deeply engrossed in watching him that she was jostled clean off of the youki cloud by a sharp impact. When she turned her eyes honed in on Toran who had locked claws with Masami, the latter of which was desperately trying to disengage and get to her. Not that she would have been fast enough because Shunran flickered up beside her and grabbed a hold of her roughly before her world went dark.

* * *

His jaws were clamped around the blasted panther's neck and they were breaking the bones in his neck. His death was seconds away, his life was seeping out of him in large wet droplets of blood. Yet he still struggled though it was in vain and both of them knew it. So with a resounding snarl he tightened his jaws and yanked tearing the panther's head clean off. A spray of blood shot from the gaping wound and coated his pristine white fur a dark sticky red. As the massive body of his foe fell to the dirt below he could not resist howling his victory for everyone to hear. The sound rang out for miles, haunting in both beauty, and meaning. For it was the howl of a warrior who had bested his enemy and was proud of it. A resounding chorus of snarls from his own army answered his and he turned fierce eyes to survey the remains of the Southern army. The battle had been easy..too easy. With a flash of youki he was back in ningen form and pushing his way through his army towards the back where his mother, and mate had been. He did not know why but he needed to make sure that she was safe, his beast demanded it.

As soon as he reached the place where he had last seen her his stomach dropped. His mother was laying on the ground bloodied, but still alive. He rushed to her side and assessed her wounds quickly while he cast his senses out to find his mate. "Mother what happened? Where is Kagome?"

"Those damn panther devas ran amok that is what happened! Then the red haired one took off with Kagome!" She hissed against the pain in her side where she sported a rather nasty gash. "Go and get her back already!" She snapped irate.

He turned to several of his men and barked out orders for his mother to be returned to the shiro. "The rest of you will come with me to recover the Western Lady!"

"Hai!" They all chorused before they quickly dispersed to do their different duties.

With Toran shielding it was difficult to find her, but with Tetsusaiga's help he was able to pick up a faint trace of Kagome's aura a fair distance away from them, and wasting no time he took to the air and shot off towards it. He cursed himself for allowing her to come with him! He should have made her stay behind where it was safe! If anything happened to her, or their pup he would never forgive himself for acquiescing to her demand.

* * *

A soft groan sounded through the dank confines of the dark space around her. "Wh-Where am I?" She tried to sit up only to gasp as a sharp pain raced through her midsection. What the hell had happened to her?

"Nice to see that you are awake miko." A familiar female voice sounded from right in front of her before the cave was lit up with fire, revealing the figure of Toran. Three other figures stood silently in the background as she stepped forward and knelt down in front of her. "I still cannot believe that the Inu no Taisho would take a ningen mate, let alone a miko... But with that little spawn growing inside of you, you are not much of a threat are you?" She mocked her while she caressed Kagome's face.

The touch sent her scurrying back against the cave wall behind her as her arms came up to cover her stomach instantly. "What the hell do you want from me? Your leader is dead so there was no point in doing this! You can't tell me that he planned to die just so that all of you could capture a weak ningen miko!" The words had barely escaped from her mouth when a resounding slap sounded a second before her face lit up with an intense stinging pain. She gasped and cupped her face where Toran had slapped her before turning a glare on the blue haired female. "Answer me! Why did you kidnap me!?"

"What is dead can always be revived miko." Toran answered her cryptically before she advanced on her again, claws lashing out to rake down her cheek.

She gritted her teeth against the need to scream, and instead opted to glare at her captor heatedly. "Whatever you hope to gain here will be for nothing... Touga will come and he will kill you."

With a snarl Toran reared back and backhanded her so hard that her weak ningen body buckled and slammed into the rock floor. "Silence ningen! You will be the one who will die here! Do you not see that all of this was planned?"

Kagome's eyes widened though she did not entirely comprehend Toran's words. They planned for Kagemaru to die? But what purpose would that serve? "That sounds stupid! Who would willingly allow themselves to die? What end would it serve?" She spat out while she pulled herself up from the ground and wiped the blood leaking down her lip. At this point she was just grateful that the pup didn't seem to be hurt thanks to her reiki.

"In ancient times when miko first started walking these lands youkai often used their power to raise the souls of their fallen kin. A miko is after all a symbol of life, and even those with destructive power such as yourself, can be used to restore life given the proper precautions."

Her blood ran cold and froze in her veins. They wanted to sap her power to revive Kagemaru? But Touga would just kill him again! "Even if this succeeds and Kagemaru is resurrected, he will simply be killed again by Touga. What will you do then?" Despite her strong tone she could not help but to clutch at her stomach more protectively.

At that point Karan stepped in in all of her fiery glory, and ruthless arrogance. "The Inu no Taisho will be of no consequence after we use your power to revive our master."

"What do you mean? You're not making any sense!" Her disbelieving statement was met with a swift punishment, and she whimpered when Karan singed her her arm, burning her chihaya in the process.

"Youki, and reiki are opposing forced miko." Toran deemed to answer her with great amusement. "That means that they clash against one another and drive each other to new heights of power. So by absorbing your power our master will become supremely powerful." She sniffed disdainfully and circled around Kagome. "It is fitting that that which should bring you happiness, is ultimately going to be the reason for your downfall. It is the existence of that child that makes you weak enough to succumb to the ritual."

She clutched even tighter to her stomach and bent her body over it as if it was a shield. If only she had listened when Masami told her that Touga could handle it! But how could she have known that this would happen? How could anyone have known that the panther king planned to die so that he could be revived by her power? In hindsight she should have known that it was possible after she witnessed him being revived through the skikon no tama, and by absorbing Karan, Shunran, and Shuran. A life for a life... "You will fail."

"No we will not. Everything we have done this day has been to see to the realization of our master's vision. He will be a supreme power before this day is done, and he will slay your dog."

Her eyes met Toran's icy blue with a defiant glare. "Touga will come for me!" She spat out even though she was terrified. He would come for her she knew that he would! She just prayed that he made it before they started draining the life from her and Inuyasha. She had to find a way to let him know where she was!

"It will serve to lead you to her should you ever become separated." Totosai's words from now long ago echoed in her mind.

"That's right he has Tetsusaiga! It will lead him right to us!" She cheered internally though she schooled her face so that it showed nothing. While she was focusing on that she diverted part of her awareness and sought out the familiar thrum of Tetsusaiga.

"Take her and prepare her for the ritual."

She could vaguely hear Toran order Shuran to take her, though she paid it no mind.

"Yes sister." A second later she was grabbed by the hair and dragged off somewhere. "Such a shame... You would make a great concubine."

A flash of anger surged through her but she quickly squashed it down so that she didn't lose concentration. She could feel it...the thrumming of Tetsusaiga. It was closer than she had expected though that was to be expected.

Her body collided with the floor again and she felt something snap before a searing pain lit up her chest. "Whoops sorry ningen..." Shuran's face appeared above her as he sneered down at her.

She ignored him and focused on reaching out with her reiki to connect herself to Tetsusaiga. It startled her how weak she was only a week into the pregnancy. Though instinctively she knew that her reiki was acting to protect Inuyasha from being purified, by shielding him, and though this weakened her phenomenally she couldn't bring herself to curse her power for leaving her when she needed it. If it protected him she was okay with dealing with the pain her body was experiencing.

Her clothes were ripped off of her body roughly, before she was shrugged into a pristine white garb.

Panic. She could feel panic from her mate resonating through her link with both him, and Tetsusaiga. It almost had her snapping back into the safety of her own mind, but she resisted the urge and instead focused on discerning the direction of his path. A sigh of relief escaped her when she deduced that he was in fact approaching her location rapidly. So when she was grabbed and dragged into another section of the cave she couldn't help but to smile a bit in relief.

Shuran dragged her into a part of the cave where the other panther devas were waiting, and he threw her into the center of a pentagram drawn in blood.

She cried out when her side was roughly jostled from the impact before her body came to a stop dead in the center of the symbol. When she regained herself and looked around she saw that each of the four panther devas had taken up stations at four of the star's points leaving the fifth point clear of all except a small piece of flesh. With a rueful smile she guessed that that was where Kagemaru reform, and if she had to guess she was laying in his blood. Maybe the cat was smarter than anyone had ever given him credit for.

"We need to move fast before the dog arrives!" Toran barked out. The others moved quickly pouring their youki into the blood symbol.

The blood started glowing a haunting red hue as their youki danced across the circle, blood chains shooting up from the ground and snaring her so that she was unable to move, or run. They dug into her arms, and legs making her bleed, though what was the most painful was when her reiki started being channeled through the chains. It started in the center of her chest, and it made a searing pain shoot through her lungs, and heart. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream of anguish, the likes of which she had never before experienced. It raced from her chest, to her head, and down through her arms and legs until she felt as though she was suffocating, and burning at a stake. Though she took solace in the fact that once it reached her abdomen the process seemed to slow down to a snail's pace. It did not diminish the pain at all, in fact it intensified despite the tenacity with which her reiki fought off the invading youki. It was protecting her pup as best it could, but if Touga didn't hurry up Inuyasha would die. She heard a distant explosion and she smiled wistfully. Maybe he had heard her.

* * *

"KAZE NO KIZU!" He cried out dispatching the lower level panthers that had rushed out from the caves to meet him, and his army. "Take care of the rest!" He shouted out to his men before he flew down into the cave opening closest to where Tetsusaiga was pulling him. He was in a frenzy at this point, as his mate's agony flooded through their bond making him cringe, and snarl in fury. For a ningen the pain would be unbearable, let alone for a newly pupped female. The stress alone could cause her to lose the pup, and with another snarl he pushed himself forward faster slashing through whatever enemy came between him, and his female.

The large swell of youki that he had sensed earlier fluctuated as something else battered against it, holding it at bay temporarily. He resisted the urge to grin despite the seriousness of the situation. Even in her weakened state Kagome was more than strong enough to give the panther devas a fight from hell.

A sharp piercing cry assaulted his ears making him see red.

"Mate dying! Do something!" His beast snarled out enraged.

He was not far off now he could feel it... Along with the reforming youki of an enemy that he had just killed. Everything made sense to him, from the battle that was far too easy, to the fact that the panther devas had not assisted their master during battle. They had been after Kagome so that they could use her power in a reviving ritual. It was rarely done as most miko were not strong enough to revive a youkai, let alone a Daiyoukai, but Kagome was more than strong enough. Not that they would succeed.

He rounded a corner and crashed face first into a rather impressive barrier. No doubt it was put up to buy time for the four of them, but he was in no mood to be slowed down, and with a powerful collision of his youki against it, the barrier buckled and fell. He wasted no time in dashing into the chambers sword raised to slash out at the first panther deva that got in his way. It just so happened that Toran was closest to him so with a thundering snarl he lashed out at her.

She barely managed to jump out of the way, though with the lapse in her judgement the spell faltered and broke. "Dammit! Take the miko and get the hell out of here!"

That caused him to immediately change the direction of his actions towards where Kagome was about to be scooped up by Shuran. With a snarl he shot forward and collided with the brute knocking him back through the rock wall, before assuming a defensive stance over his mate. She was hurt he could smell the blood gathering under her skin, and it took his rage to even greater heights. But before he could annihilate the bastards Toran sent a wave of frost at him that, while it would do no harm to him, would cause his mate to freeze to death. So he was forced to quickly turn and gather her up close to his body to keep her from freezing to death.

"Retreat for now!"

He heard Toran's sharp order along with the resounding footfalls as the four of them made their escape. His beast howled, and thrashed in rage, demanding that he go after them and kill them for hurting his mate, and pup. But he resisted and instead moved in the opposite direction to get Kagome out of the cold. He flew down the corridor, his feet barely touching the ground in his haste.

"Touga?"

"Wait until we are safely out of this cave system before speaking love." He answered her softly spoken question.

"Is Inuyasha going to be okay?" She persisted despite herself.

"Yes he will be fine." And he could not resist sighing in relief at the truth of his words. The pup's aura was just forming, but it still served to inform him of his state, and right now the aura was slightly unsettled, but not distressed. He honestly could not say the same for her, her aura was highly distressed, as well as pained. As soon as he took her home she would be on full bedrest until he deemed her healthy enough.

* * *

Several of her ribs were broken on the left side, alone with several nasty gashes courtesy of one of the panther's claws, a large burn along the length of her right arm completed the list of wounds she had sustained. He had not left her side since he had found her, though it seemed to be welcomed on her part. She clung to him and he let her without reprimand.

Right now she was sitting on his lap wrapped in his mokomoko. She played with the strands of his hair that fell over his shoulders to amuse herself, though her countenance was still somber, and tired. "Touga?"

"Yes?"

"Are we still going to go and see my mother?" She turned to him wincing at jostling her wounded ribs. "You did say that we could afterwards..."

"I did. Are you sure that you want to go see her when you are like this?" Though if he was being honest it did not bother him in the least. Her time did seem much safer than this one.

"Hmm after your mother leaves." And with that she started up with playing with his hair again by twisting it through her fingers. "Hey Touga?"

"Yes?" He answered smiling at her inquisitive nature despite himself.

"Are you going to be able to sense my heats from now on? Because I don't really want to be put into a situation like this again." Her hands roamed down to cup her still flat stomach protectively.

"Yes I will be able to sense them. Not that it matters because even if there is a surprise pregnancy you will not be going into battle while pupped ever again." He scowled while he waited for a protest from her.

"Trust me I don't want to." She shivered slumping further into mokomoko. "I think that I will just be a good little wife and wait at home for you from now on."

"Yes I think that would be wise." Silence fell over them for several moments and he just enjoyed it while she played with his hair, and mokomoko.

"Hey Touga?"

His eyes snapped open and flew down to her face. "Hm?"

"Nothing I was just checking to make sure you didn't fall asleep." She giggled when he glared down at her.

"You behave like a pup sometimes love." He chuckled while he carefully moved her to face him. "At least I can take comfort in the fact that our pups will have someone to keep them occupied."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering her he opted to pull her to him more tightly, being careful not to put pressure on her left side of course. "I simply meant that you are well suited to being a mother."

"Sure..." She drawled mischievously while she leaned up and kissed his throat. "You just want to pawn the pup off on me at every opportunity you get don't you?"

"No I do not." He defended himself. "That being said I am the Inu no Taisho, and Lord of the Western Lands, and as such I am often times very busy. That means that the majority of the pup's time will be spent with you."

"Hold on just a second mister!" She huffed pulling back to point an accusing finger at him. "I won't let you just pawn them off on me all of the time! Children need a father that is there for them so you have to at least devote a couple hours a day to them! No negotiating!"

"I did not say that I would ignore them." He chastised her gently. She was already so attentive to needs that the pup did not even have yet. "I will not leave the rearing of our pups to you alone. I will set aside a certain amount of time every day to play with them, and bestow them with affection. You forget that I have done this before."

"Oh? And is that why Sesshomaru acts like a stick in the mud? I sweat that guys has never even had an affectionate thought towards anyone! So you couldn't have been too affectionate with him."

"I was actually quite affectionate with Sesshomaru when he was a pup, though Inukimi was raised with different morals than I. Those morals were passed onto Sesshomaru over the centuries, and eventually he adopted her way of seeing things. If I had had more time to spend with him when he was in his adolescence I believe that his behavior change could have been avoided, but as the Western Lord I could not fawn over him as he grew into an adult. In a way I am to blame, though Inukimi is also to blame." A frown crossed his features as the memories raced through his mind. From coddling Sesshomaru when he was a pup, to being too distant when he was a teenager, and finally to noticing for the first time that his son had become as cold as his mother. That day had been a harsh lesson that he had not been as attentive as he should have been. But it was not lack of affection as a pup that had turned Sesshomaru into a monster.

"Huh well after he meets Rin that should change... A little." Kagome trailed off thoughtfully. "I wonder what Sesshomaru will be like as a father?"

"Inus are affectionate with their pups even males. You would probably not believe it, but my father used to coddle me as a pup."

"Really?"

"Really. I used to sleep in his bed with him whenever I had nightmares, and my mother was not around." They were fond memories for him, memories of a time long since passed. His father had not been so warm in centuries, at least to anyone other than his mother.

"Well at least he was a good father to you." She yawned and laid her head onto his shoulder. "You'll be a doting papa too I'm sure of it." She muttered seconds before her breathing evened out in sleep.

He nuzzled her affectionately before he moved them to their futon to lay down on it. "I would do anything for you and our pups." And he would even if she did not ask for it. He loved their pup already, along with all of the pups that had yet to come.

* * *

R&R


	10. Chapter 10

So for any of you who were wondering Kagome is actually pregnant with Inuyasha, though there will be at least one other pup born in this story. And there will be quite a few time skips in this story just wanted to throw it out there! Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

It had been two months since the panther tribe attacked, and things had settled back down afterwards. Though Touga had only become more crazy protective in the time following after. Though she supposed it was to be expected seeing as how hanyou pregnancies only lasted anywhere from six, to seven months instead of the traditional nine month ningen pregnancies. So she was already showing, and suffering from intense morning sickness, and fatigue. It was hard on her body, though Masami, and Touga were very supportive, and they both loved to fuss over her. But in all of the chaos of her pregnancy she still had not yet had time to go home and visit her mother to inform her of the pregnancy. And everyday it was put off tore at a little part of her mind until one day she could stand it no more.

"Touga I want to go and visit my mother." She informed him as he led her around the gardens. No one ever let her go anywhere alone anymore, even Chikako fawned over her. Though that was because she had quickly become good friends with the tora.

"Did you not say that you wanted to wait until my mother returned home?" He questioned pulling her aside to sit on a stone bench.

"Well yes but..." She started unsure of whether what she had to say would offend anyone. "I didn't expect your mother to practically move in for the duration of my pregnancy... With her here I feel guilty for making you take me home so I put it off but..." Her emotions got the better of her and her guilt had tears welling up in her eyes.

And of course her mate was quick to placate her gently to prevent her distress. "My mother will understand love. There is no need to feel guilty." He pulled her up into his lap and nuzzled her cheek. "We can go whenever you want."

A full mood swing took hold of her, and she did a one eighty. "Really?! Souta will be so excited! And mama too! Can we go today?" She bounded up from his lap and danced around excitedly.

"I did say that we could go whenever you wanted did I not? Now go and get your things while I go and inform my mother of our departure. Chikako?"

The tora was there in a second. "Hai?"

"Take Kagome and help her prepare for our trip. I will come and retrieve her soon."

"Hai Touga-sama!" Chikako bowed before she moved to usher Kagome to her rooms.

He watched them go before he too entered the shiro to find his mother. Gods knew that she was not going to be happy with them leaving... She had quickly become attached to Kagome, and even more so after she found out about the pup. Besides himself, she was the one that spent the most time with his mate. So this was one encounter he was not looking forward to.

* * *

Kagome fidgeted in excitement as Touga hovered over the well that led to her time, before he descended down into it. The warm blue lights easily accepted them into the timeslip, soothing all of her stress. Touga had seemed irritated during the flight, but he had informed her that his mother had thrown a fit that they were leaving. Needless to say she had felt bad about leaving, and she had even started crying, which had in turn made Masami feel bad for upsetting her. Long story short they had still ended up going to her time, after her mother in law had soothed her from yet another emotional breakdown.

They never even touched the dirt on the other side, with Touga being able to fly he simply shot back up out of the well before finally sitting down on the wooden floor of the well house.

As soon as her feet touched the floor she was scrambling out the doors towards the house. She yanked the door open and called out. "Mama!"

"In the kitchen dear!" Her mother called out cheerfully.

She quickly shed her sandals and wandered in towards the kitchen. Her mother was standing at the stove cooking dinner when she peeked around the corner. No one else was in sight so she took a hesitant step into the kitchen. "Mama? Could we talk for a minute?"

Ai spun around with a smile on her face. "Sure dear what did you-!?" She cut herself off with a gasp once her eyes landed on Kagome's stomach. "Ka-Kagome?"

Large hands came to rest across her swollen abdomen, while Touga's chin came to rest on the top of her head. "Yeah so Touga and I are mates... And well...as you can see I'm pregnant." She winced at how it sounded when she said it.

Her mother immediately pulled out a chair before slumping into it. "Okay dear sit down and explain all of this to me."

She sat down opposite of her mother, Touga following her motions and settling himself beside her. "Well when we left Touga decided he wanted to court me."

"Yes I remember that... And I am happy that you two have each other... But that does not explain why you look like you are five months pregnant! You should only be two months pregnant at most!"

She sighed in relief that her mother wasn't upset about her being pregnant, she was merely shocked at how pregnant she looked. "Well..."

Touga cut in before she could say anything. "I believe that I can better explain that Ai-san. You see youkai pregnancies only last for six months, so hanyou pregnancies last seven months. So Kagome is due to give birth less than five months from now."

"Oh." Kagome, and her mother both echoed each other.

"Huh well I was expecting it to be a little longer than that but..." Her hands once more took up residence over her stomach. A small fluttering responded from within causing her to smile a little. Inuyasha wasn't kicking yet, but she could still feel him move sometimes. A large clawed hand came to rest over hers and she looked up and met her mate's eyes, smiling at him before she turned to her mother. "So uhhh are you excited...?"

"Yes dear I am very happy that I am going to be a nana." Her mother smiled warmly. "Should we go get you some prenatal vitamins? Do they have things like that in that era?" She asked her motherly worry finally rearing its' head.

Well she hadn't even thought about it... "I don't know if I can take regular prenatal vitamins mama. The baby isn't ningen so prenatal vitamins made for ningen pregnancies might not work."

At that point Touga cut into the conversation again. "What is a prenatal vitamin?"

"It's a pill that pregnant women take to help strengthen the baby during pregnancy." She explained to her adorably confused mate.

"What is a pill?" Touga questioned confused by being answered, and then left with another question.

She giggled at how cute he looked before she stood and grabbed a bottle of tylenol from the cupboard. Quickly popping the top open she reached in and held up a hand to show him one of the small pills inside. "This is a pill, it's like a tonic that is in a solid form. This one is for pain, there are other pills for various illnesses, and ailments. Do you understand now?"

He nodded amd watched her as she returned the bottle to the cabinet before returning to her seat. "So these prenatal vitamins are good for pregnant women to take?"

"Yes but as Kagome said they may not be good for the little one because he is not ningen. The pills available in this time are made for ningens and not anyone else." Ai explained before standing and crossing the room to hug her. "Ohh Souta is going to be so excited! We will have to buy some baby clothes, and binkies..."

She laughed at her mother and hugged her back. "Ok mama we can go baby shopping tomorrow!"

Ai pulled back and kissed her on the forehead before she hastily moved to start dinner. "Ok we will go first thing in the morning dear. But for now why don't you go upstairs and rest? Being pregnant can be very tiring..."

"Don't I know it..." She sighed tiredly and with a wave at her mama she turned and moved towards the stairs. Before she got to them however she turned and drifted back towards the kitchen pushing Touga slightly out of her way so that she could get back in. "Mama where are Souta, and Grandpa?"

"Souta is at Hitomi's house, and grandpa is out playing bingo."

She made a face at that. "Since when does grandpa play bingo?"

Her mother turned and offered her a small smile, and a delicate shrug. "Who knows dear... But the better question is, do you want oden for dinner?"

"Sure!" She chirped though she doubted that she would be able to eat it, anytime she ate anything she got violently ill. Touga had even taken to rubbing her back to soothe her during meals, though that didn't stop her from being sick. "Mama I should probably eat in my room though."

"Morning sickness?" Ai questioned knowingly.

"Yeah...bad too. I can't even eat most of the time." She groused irritated that she was missing out on oden. A package being held up in front of her face startled her, and she pulled back to get a better look. "Saltine crackers?"

Her mother nodded and shoved them into her hands. "Saltine crackers a pregnant woman's best friend... Eat these if you can't stomach the oden."

"M'kay..." She shrugged and moved towards the stairs to go to her room. Her feet ached, her head hurt, and she was just tired. So when she did walk into her room she placed the crackers down and immediately sought out her bed and laid down in it. As soon as she was comfortable Touga took up post at her feet, seemingly intent to guard her from whatever came in the door. "Come here."

His head snapped to her and he eyed the hand she was holding out for him, before sighing and crawling up to lay next to her. "Sleep now, you have had a long day." As he said that his hand came down to cup her stomach protectively, while he nuzzled her hair.

She really was tired, more so than she had initially though, and she vaguely wondered if the fatigue would get better as the pregnancy progressed. The thoughts crossed her mind for a moment, before they eventually evaporated into nothingness as sleep claimed her.

* * *

A loud bang had him shooting up out of the bed and crouching over his mate protectively. His youki elevated at the thought that there as a threat to her, and their pup, and he cast his senses out to ascertain what kind of youkai it was. Not that he needed to because a second later a familiar figure opened the door to Kagome's room and peaked in.

"Sis?" Souta whispered and when he saw Touga he brightened up and hesitantly stepped into the room. "Hey Touga!"

"Souta." He greeted instantly calming back down. "Kagome is sleeping right now. Did you need something?"

"Mom wanted me to tell her that dinner is ready. Do you want me to bring it up?" Souta questioned sparing a glance at his sister.

"No that will be alright Souta, I can come and get it." He stood up and sauntered out of the room to the kitchen where he could smell a tantalizing scent. Souta was trailing along after him talking his ear off about one thing, or another, not that he minded. When he reached the kitchen and stepped into it there was a sudden silence before he was pelted by faulty ofuda.

"YOUKAI BEGONE!"

"Grandpa stop it!" Ai chastised him with a threatening look, well as threatening as she could be. "Touga is going to be in the family from now on so you had better just behave yourself from now on! We don't need the new family member being afraid of you!" She continued her lecture even while she was fluttering around preparing two trays for him to take upstairs.

"What do you mean new family member mom?" Souta questioned hopping into his seat.

"Kagome is my mate, and she is pregnant with my pup." He answered before she could.

A clanging noise was heard as grandpa dropped his chopsticks, then silence for a moment before he finally erupted. "YOUKAI YOU HAD SEX WITH MY GRANDDAUGHTER?! HOW DARE YOU?!" And as if he had not learned his lesson the first several times he tried it, he reached into his haori and retrieved several more ofudas.

"GRANDPA CUT IT OUT!"

Everyone froze and turned to face a very upset looking Kagome. "Kagome love you need to take it easy." He cooed taking measured steps towards her.

"NO! I WANT GRANDPA TO JUST CUT IT OUT ALREADY! WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY HAD REIKI?! HE COULD HAVE REALLY HURT YOU! AND WHAT ABOUT INUYASHA? HE'S GOING TO BE TERRIFIED OF SPENDING TIME WITH GRANDPA BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO BE PELTED WITH OFUDA EACH, AND EVERYTIME!"

"Kagome calm down..." He tried placating her but she was having none of it. When she got into a good moodswing she was gone, and gone...

"NO I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" She stomped her foot petulantly and brushed past him to stand before her grandpa hand held out expectantly. "GIVE ME THE REST OF YOUR OFUDA RIGHT NOW GRANDPA!" When he went to protest she growled and smacked her hand irate. "NOW!"

So he reluctantly pulled out the rest of his ofuda muttering and moaning the whole time before he slapped them into her hand. "Youkais...and miko granddaughters..." He muttered darkly before he slumped back into his chair.

For good measure she held the ofuda up and incinerated them with her reiki, watching with disinterested eyes as the ashes fell to the floor around her. "NO MORE OFUDA! AND IF I SEE YOU CHASING MY BABY AROUND WITH THEM I WILL BEAT YOUR BUTT WITH YOUR SHOGI BOARD!" And with that she turned and stormed out of the room muttering about senile old grandpas that she loved to death.

Silence fell over the room as everyone attempted to gather their thoughts, though he did so faster. "She tends to have horrible mood swings..." He explained unnecessarily.

Ai recovered quickly and finished up the trays of food before handing them over to him. "Yes well women do tend to have that problem... Just be supportive!" She encouraged warmly before she went to claim her own seat.

Before he could turn and leave the room Souta said something that had the entire meal stopping dead. "Did sis say that she was pregnant with Inuyasha?"

"I would like to know what that was about as well." Gramps muttered still sore about the whole episode.

"Well I am apparently this Inuyasha's father, so we believe that even though Kagome is not that Inuyasha's mother, his soul will still be placed into this pup thus making him the same being. It makes sense in a way because a body must match the strength of its soul, and this Inuyasha was a powerful inu hanyou, so his soul must have been quite powerful as well. That means that he needs a powerful body to inhabit, and there are no stronger inu males than I."

"So Inuyasha is gonna be my nephew?" Souta questioned nearly shaking in his seat from excitement.

"Yes if we are correct. Only Kagome can say for sure if it is actually him as she is the only one that remembers the feel of his soul." He smiled down at the boy who he was quickly warming up to. Many ningens were just not like the ones here, minus the grandfather of course.

"That is so awesome! I am so going to teach him how to play tekken!"

What was a tekken? He wanted to ask but the scent of sadness, and tears assaulted his senses and he bolted up the stairs without a second thought. Kagome was huddled in the corner sobbing quietly and he quickly sat the trays down near the window, and moved to pull her into his lap and comfort her. "Kagome why do you cry?"

"I yelled at my grandpa..." She whimpered hiccuping and burying her face into his shoulder.

So now it was the sadness after the storm... His female was so rich in emotion that even he had trouble keeping up sometimes. "It is alright." He cooed rubbing soothing circles across her back.

"No it's not! I was so mean to him!" She protested the sound rising in volume, as did her emotions. "I burned all of his ofuda! And I threatened to his him with a shogi board! I'm such a bitch!"

"No you are not a bitch, you are just pupped." His words fell on deaf ears though because as he said earlier, when she went into a full mood swing she was gone... So he held her while she sobbed as if she had actually killed someone, all the while he continued rubbing her back, and growling soothingly. It would pass soon, it always did, and then she would be happy as could be. So he rocked her, and soothed her for an amount of time that he did not even try to keep track of, until she finally did settle down. "Do you feel better now?" He asked after the room had fallen silent.

"Yes...can I eat now?" She sniffled wiping her nose with her shirt sleeve.

He just nodded and reached for the trays containing their food, before placing hers into her lap, and his onto his own lap. "What about those cr-ck-ers?"

She paused in eating her oden to giggle at him. "Crackers. Umm I can have them after I throw this up. I'm sure that they'll go great with white rice...Soon Kagome will have a diet of nothing but white rice, and saltine crackers..." She groused less than pleased about it.

Shaking his head at her moodiness he quickly dug into his own food. Being inu youkai made for a big eater so Ai had given him extra food, which he quickly stuffed down his throat, with proper etiquette of course. When he finished he noticed Kagome glaring at him heatedly while she stirred the soup with her chopsticks. "Is there something wrong?"

"I hate you..." She muttered darkly. "You sit there and eat like that when you know I can't! Can't you at least turn around so that I can't see you doing what I can't do?!" She started viciously stabbing her pork chop with her chopsticks.

"Love do not play with your food!" He admonished completely ignoring what she said. She was pregnant and she was frustrated with the changes in her body. When she proceeded to stab at her food even more viciously he held out a hand to stop her.

"I HATE YOU!"

"No you do not."

"Yes I do! You got me pregnant and now I can't eat my oden!"

"Just sip it slowly and see if you can stomach it." He placated hoping to soothe her mounting frustration.

She huffed and brought the soup to her mouth and sipped at it slowly gulping several small mouthfuls down. When she pulled the bowl away she sat there quietly for several moments before the inevitable happened. Her hand shot up to clamp across her mouth before she shot to her feet and streaked into the bathroom.

He followed her and held her hair back while she emptied her stomach of its contents once more. He remembered when she had first gotten ill like this, he had thought that she was dying or something. Youkai females did not become ill as ningen females apparently did during pregnancy, instead they became aggressive, and territorial. He had nearly torn the shiro apart to find the court healer to look at Kagome, only to feel silly when his mate explained that pregnant ningen females suffered from something called morning sickness, where they became ill oftentimes in the morning after they had woken up, and during mealtimes when they had eaten. That did not mean that he was not still worried about her, she did not seem to be getting enough sustenance, and that concerned him. Their pup was inu, and as such he needed nutrients that came from meat to be healthy, and she was unable to hold down anything but white rice, and that was only occasionally. If something was not done he was concerned that the pup would not be at optimum health when he was born. At that point she pushed back and he allowed her to slump back against him. Instead of saying anything he simply rubbed her stomach soothingly while he released a deep rumbling growl.

"Ughh vomit breath..." Kagome moaned miserably before she forced herself up with effort. She retrieved what she called a 'toothbrush' and proceeded to cleanse her mouth of the vomit.

While she did that he hovered behind her in case she became ill again, as she had a tendency to become so even after she felt that she was finished. He kept hovering even after she finished and put her toothbrush away, and all the way back to the bedroom where she hurriedly plopped down onto the futon. His eyes roved the room and landed on the cracker box sitting on the dresser and he hurriedly grabbed it and ripped it open. "Here try and eat a few of these." He pushed several of the squares into her hands before sitting the box off to the side of the futon.

She glared at the small squares before she hesitantly brought one to her mouth and nibbled on it. "It's still not oden..." She whined staring wistfully at the bowl of her favorite soup. The pout on her face instantly vanished, a smile replacing it as she reached over and dipped her cracker into the salty soup before bringing it to her mouth and popping it in. "Mmmm much better!"

He sweatdropped at her sudden change in demeanor but otherwise left her to it. Females were so strange...

* * *

"Mama I don't want Inuyasha wearing that!" Kagome protested as her mother held out a pink, yes a pink footy. Honestly she was wondering if her mother had forgotten that her pup was a boy, and he was going to possess the soul of her one time best friend. But even if her mother had conveniently forgotten that, she had not! And there was no way that she was going to make her son wear a pair of pink footy pajamas. "Touga help me out here!"

"I think...not..." Her mate responded eyeing the garment questionably.

"Why not?! Do you want your son wearing that? And are those unicorns?" She gaped just now noticing the small horse like creatures adorning the garment.

"Now Kagome whoever said that this was for Inuyasha? What about when you have a daughter?" Her mother argued refusing to relent on her choice at all. "You had a little unicorn nighty when you were a baby...so cute..." She gushed with a twinkle in her eyes.

"MAMA WE ARE SHOPPING FOR INUYASHA NOT ANY PUPS THAT WE HAVE NOT YET CONCEIVED! PICK SOMETHING OUT FOR HIM!" She screeched at her wits end with her mama. When the other patrons stopped to stare at her oddly she was quick to snap. "WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?! AND IT BETTER NOT BE HIM CUZ HE'S MINE!" She snarled scaring off several other females that were eyeing her man.

"Calm down Kagome...if you keep this up you will go into premature labor." Her mother joked before she turned back to the racks and pulled out a small red footy pajama with small white puppies on it. "What about this? This way he can be reminded of daddy all of the time!" She smiled cheekily and held up the garment for them to view.

"I like that actually!"

"I do not..." Touga grumbled irritably.

"Shut it Touga or else!" She chastised him snatching the garment from her mom and shoving it into the basket. She could just imagine how cute Inuyasha would look running around in it...

"You two do realize that the pup is not coming for at least another four months right?"

Both women froze and turned menacing eyes on him. "Yes...but ningen females like to do pointless things! So be a good boy and let us shop, and then after we get home I'll give you a present!" Kagome chirped with a lecherous look in his direction. Thank gods for ningen women having an increased libido during pregnancy.

Touga made a small sound that was like a mix between an excited whine, and an exasperated grunt. "Fine but would either of you like to explain what these are?" He asked holding up a small plastic package containing pacifiers.

"They're binkies." She answered him distractedly while she rooted around in the racks some more. "Babies like to suck on them, they're soothing to them."

"But the pup will have fangs love...he will just tear these."

With a frustrated growl she snatched the package out of his hands and shoved it onto a nearby shelf. "Ok so no binkies! Is there anything else you want to shoot down?" She growled in the midst of another mood swing.

"No continue."

"Do you even care that you're being a jerk?! Inuyasha's gonna grow up without binkies because of you!" And with that she took off crying into the back of the store, leaving one stunned male staring after her, and an entire store of pregnant women staring at him accusingly.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No dear you didn't! She's just pregnant." Ai answered as if that answered every single question he was going to ask during Kagome's pregnancy.

* * *

"Kagome we can come and see them again soon so there is no reason to act as if it is the end of the world." Touga tried to placate her when she broke down while saying goodbye to her family.

"Touga is right dear, you can come back anytime you want." Ai soothed her while she shot him a look that clearly said he was in for it, and she felt sorry for him.

"But I don't know if Inuyasha will be able to come through the well this time! What if you guys never see him until he's like seven hundred?"

"It accepted him into the time slip before dear, and I'm sure it will accept him again! So stop crying you're worrying your mate."

"I'M NOT CRYING!" Kagome shouted stamping her foot and stalking off towards the well house.

"Will she be like this the entire time she is pregnant?" In a way he was almost afraid of the answer that her mother would give him.

"I'm afraid so...ningen women tend to become very uncomfortable when they are pregnant...which they tend to take out on those around them." Ai responded while she handed him a large bag filled with baby items. "You should go after her though before she tries to jump through the well on her own." And right on que a large burst of magic lit up the area. "Oh well you had best catch up..."

With a nod and a wave in their direction he was off through the well after his troublesome mate. She was actually starting to run him ragged with all of her mood swings, and random dizzy spells. He comforted himself with the fact that she was at least as safe as she could be with him. He caught her trying to climb up from the well using the vines on the other side, and with a sigh he jumped up, grabbing her to take her with him as he vaulted from the well. Of course she was none too happy with that, and it started up another pregnant Kagome fit. Which he proceeded to ignore the entire way back to the shiro, much to her irritation and anger. It was going to be a long four months...

* * *

R&R!


	11. Chapter 11

So one of the comments said that they thought it was too early for Inuyasha to be born, and I promise you that it is him, and there is some thought behind the choice. As I promised earlier there will be another pup born at some other point in the story, and it will be a girl! So Inuyasha is going to be a big brother! Oh and what do you guys think of these names for her, Musabi, Reika, Emiko, or Tsukiko? Let me know in the reviews! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Small lemon!

* * *

"Kagome love what are you eating?" Touga asked her from the head of the table. She was sitting next to him dipping rice balls in some kind of sweet smelling goop. Was this another pregnancy habit?

"Why can't you just let me eat my rice balls and sweet sauce in peace?" She snapped glaring at him heatedly.

So he just left her to it while he reflected on the past two months since they had returned from her time. In that time his mate had grown so much so that he refused to let her go anywhere without him, as he was afraid that she would trip since she could not see her feet anymore. Needless to say she had become increasingly more irritable about his habit of hovering over her. Along with the increase in growth, was an increase in fatigue, and in the frequency of her fainting spells. But the weirdest part was the things that she always seemed to want to eat. Just the other day she had made him return to her time with a list of things for her mother to acquire for her, things like chocolate covered cherries, that her mother said she could not have... Potato chips, ramen, sweet syrup, sushi, and a whole assortment of things, and the ways she combined these things were...interesting to say the least. Just this morning he had found her eating syrup coated sushi...He had nearly gagged, only managing to catch himself so as not to upset her. And now she was eating rice balls and some other sweet substance. Well she had told him that the pup made her body crave certain foods that even she normally would not like, she said this in the midst of eating pickles dipped in chocolate. Apparently she had always hated pickles, but since little Yasha wanted them...she ate them. Yes she had taken to calling the pup Yasha... He just hoped that she did not hope to actually name him that. But he was rambling and there were other things he could be thinking on, such as the fact that she was due in less than three months, and she seemed nervous about that. Though most first time mothers were beside themselves with worry about actually giving birth, Kagome was no different it seemed. And truthfully his assessment on the length of her pregnancy had been purely speculation based upon stories that he had heard, though it did make sense.

His attention was drawn to his mate when she suddenly shoved her food away from her and stood on shaky feet. "Kagome?" He questioned standing to move after her.

"I'm fine." She answered him while she waddled towards the door.

"Then where are you going? You did not even finish your food." And she had not even come close as she usually did succeed in eating all of her food. Being pregnant for a hanyou made for one hungry Kagome that was for sure. So it made him uneasy when she refused her food. He came up beside her to walk next to her as she journeyed from the dining room towards the main wing of the shiro.

"I'm not hungry." A squeal escaped her lips when she caught sight of something, and she immediately took off waddling as fast as she could towards it.

When his eyes landed on where she was going he chuckled. "Should have known she just wanted a bath." In actuality she spent more time in the baths then she willingly spent anywhere else. Yes he had said willingly...If he let her she would stay in the scalding hot water all day every day, and somehow he did not think that the pup would appreciate being cooked to death before he was even born. So he had taken to waiting for her in the hallway since she refused to bathe with him for some reason, and when the heat eventually did put her to sleep he would take her back to their room.

She hastily pulled open the door to the onsen and waddled inside, and over to the shelves where the bathing yukatas were. Before she grabbed one and stripped she turned to pin him with a look. "Can you turn around?"

His eyes widened at that, it was new... "And why would I do that when I have seen you naked many times before?" Could this have something to do with the fact that she refused to lay with him when in the beginning of the pregnancy she was all over him? He crossed his arms over his chest and pinned her with an expectant look. "Well?"

She shifted nervously and rung her hands over the bathing yukata in her grasp. "Well...I'm fat now so I don't want you to see me naked anymore." And as if to emphasis her point she held up the yukata between them like a shield. "So could you...?"

"No I cannot." He sighed in exasperation and ripped the yukata from her hands tossing it aside. "You are aware that I am the one that takes you to the room every time you fall asleep during your baths? So I have seen your pregnant naked body, and no I am not disgusted or put off by it. In fact I still ache for you, but I did not push it because I thought that perhaps it had become painful for you as your pregnancy progressed." With each word he stalked towards her until he had backed her up into a wall. "If I may be honest love, your body is still beautiful even pupped." He leaned forward and licked the shell of her ear before he pulled the lobe into his mouth and sucked on it.

"Mmm not fair..." She moaned breathlessly fisting her hands in his haori and pushing it aside.

Delicate hands left trails of heat across his upper body, and he purred in pleasure before pulling away. "Get in the onsen." He panted while he moved to the doors and lit up a small lantern to let everyone know that onsen was occupied, once that was done he turned and stripped before joining her in the warm water. He sat down on a wooden ledge and watched her wash her body and her hair with slow languid movements, every once in a while her hands moved to rest upon her abdomen affectionately before she continued on. At first it had amazed him that her body changed so much during pregnancy, but now he was just thoroughly fascinated, and aroused at the changes. Her large breasts had swelled even more, her abdomen was not as large as some of the other ningen women he had seen, it was a good size and well rounded, and it did not take away from her beauty at all. In fact she seemed to glow, at least to him. She always had him standing at attention...and not for the first time that day he discreetly adjusted his form to sit more comfortably. Which turned out to be pointless as she approached him and sat down on his lap facing him.

Her mouth took on an 'o' shape when his length hit her stomach, and after several silent moment where she seemed to be contemplating something she reached forward and grabbed him in her right hand.

His head fell back at the soft caresses, and when her mouth sought out his ear and licked the pointed end he groaned. Some part of his mind registered her moving, though that was the only warning he had before his length was suddenly engulfed in soft scalding flesh. He howled eyes snapping open and locking with her own narrowed blues. Never had she been so forward with him before, so receptive, and he had to admit that he liked it. What he liked even more was how ungodly tight she was right now, and he told her as much too.

She giggled and clenched her muscles around him. "Oh? Another perk of being pregnant..."

He growled and grabbed a hold of her hips so that he could flip them over and lay her down on the smooth wood of the edge so that he was in control. And once she was settled back down he spread her hips as far as they could go and started thrusting into her as fast as he dared.

"Touga..."

He could hear her screaming, and gasping with every single pulse of his hips into her, and he growled, and snarled with each warm jolt that raced through his body.

"Oh...yes..."

He picked her hips up and pulled her ass flush against his thighs, driving harder into her making her cry out. She gripped him so beautifully like he was meant to be there, like she was trying to pull him in and never let him go.

"Please!" She gasped out writhing on the ground desperately.

"Please what?" He grunted down at her sweat pooling at his brow. "What do you want?" He pulsed his length into her sharply making her cry out again.

She merely made a strangled sobbing sound, too lost for words to say anything.

Her walls tightened and gripped him and he reached down and tugged at her clit sharply. A shuddering scream passed through her lips as her first orgasm tore through her with force. She pulsed her hips back as much as she could to gather more of the amazing feeling.

He rode the duration of her release out eager to push her into another one. His own release was nowhere near happening so he could safely say that his mate would not be able to walk after they left the room. Good thing she had him to carry her... His pace never faltered even when she came down from her high, and her screams never died down between that second and the next. He planned on taking her so thoroughly that she would never think to hide from him due to her insecurities again. His plans came to a temporary screeching halt however when a startled gasp passed through Kagome's lips, her hands immediately shooting down to her abdomen, and her eyes popping open and shooting down to where her hands rested. He slowed and came to a stop completely. "What is it? Am I being too rough? Did I hurt you?" He fired off one question after another due to his worry.

"No..." She sat up her chest pressing against his while she sought out his hand and placed it on her swollen stomach. "Feel...Yash kicked me."

As if hearing her the pup inside responded by kicking out at where his hand rested. "He did..." Though his son did not have great timing... At least she had simply been startled, and not hurt as he had initially thought. Another hard kick bounced off of his hand and he smiled down, his earlier irritation disappearing completely. He guessed that he could forgive the boy, he was unaware of what he had just interrupted. And it was not like they could not continue on...Which is what he told his mate much to her shock. Needless to say she had been completely shot after he had taken her to their bedchambers...

* * *

Her feet hurt like a bitch, no pun intended at all... She had entered her sixth month of pregnancy, and she was miserable. Sure her morning sickness had passed some time ago, sure she could eat, sure she could do a lot of things that were a pain in the ass before. But in return for all of those past annoyances being resolved, she got multiple new annoyances that were just as bad. One being her tendency to faint on her feet, and while she was sitting down, while she was eating, while she was bathing...You get the point... SHE FAINTED EVERYWHERE SHE WENT! The second being that as of this month she was officially not allowed to mate with Touga at all! Now this made for a very upset Kagome, as she had found out early on in her pregnancy that she was secretly a nymphomaniac, and she had never known about it. In fact she guessed that Miroku would be surprised if he could get into her mind right now... Needless to say Touga was not budging on it at all, and yes she had tried to get him to waver at least a little bit. All of her efforts had led to multiple arguments, one sided arguments on her part because Touga never raised his voice at her, nor did he ever truly get angry at her. In fact he seemed to understand her episodes for what they were, and that was a cry discomfort. So after every fight he would hold her and coo to her to settle her down, and yes she had tried to get to him during these moments as well, to no avail of course... The third thing that bothered her was the things that she was eating...willingly... I mean sure they tasted good to her! Sure they made Yash happy! But she hated the majority of what she was eating, and that made her upset that her body was betraying her, which usually sent her into hysterics, and which usually made for one horribly overprotective Touga. Every episode she had, he was there for. Every fit she threw, he was there to chastise her, and then to comfort her when she became angry at herself. When she ate weird things he simply sat there and ate his own food, without ever commenting on what she was eating. Of course he had in the beginning but he had quickly learned his lesson. And then when she threw fits about the disgusting food she was eating, he was the one that comforted her again. Of course Masami was there during most of this as well, and she was a great help, but Kagome found that as time went on she clung to Touga with a vengeance. Hell the only time she was alone was when she needed to go to the bathroom, and even then he was close by, much to her embarrassment. So long story short, pregnancy was a bitch, once again no pun intended...

"Touga you don't have to follow me into our bedchambers! I mean what can happen?" She snapped irritated once more that he would not get off her ass. "Why do you have to be on my ass all of the time?!"

Her mate simply looked at her with exasperated golden eyes and proceeded to ignore her protests completely. "I can follow you wherever I want, this is my shiro after all, and you are my mate."

With a huff she stalked into the room and over to the wardrobe where she promptly forgot what she had come into the room for in the first place. She stomped her foot and yanked at the ends of her hair exasperated. "WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING!? ARGH!" And with that she proceeded into another breakdown, another of what was sure to be many that day. She dropped her face into her hands and just cried at how stupid she was, and as per the routine strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against a strong chest. Why couldn't she remember things for more than five seconds? Why did her feet have to hurt so much? Why did she have to faint all over the place? WHY WAS SHE EATING PICKLES?! SHE HATED PICKLES! "I hate pickles..." She cried most likely confusing her mate immensely.

"I know..." He cooed, starting up that peculiar rumbling sound that always calmed her down.

"I forget everything..." She persisted her voice hitching on another sob.

"It is alright..."

"No it's not! I ate chocolate covered pickles, and sushi! That is so gross!" She sobbed tears gushing from her eyes. When he didn't say anything to her her sadness consumed her and she released a keening wail. "GO AWAY! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE THAT YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"Kagome love-!" He started.

"NO! YOU HATE ME BECAUSE I'M BEING A BITCH! THAT'S WHY YOU AREN'T SAYING ANYTHING! YOU REGRET GETTING ME PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE! ALL BECAUSE I ATE THOSE DAMN PICKLES!" She wailed despite his attempts to soothe her.

"No I do not hate you. I love you more than anything you should know this. And as for the pickles...if you want them I do not care." The whole time he was talking he kept up the soothing purr.

"My ankles hurt!" She sobbed not able to keep one thought at the center of attention.

"I know...Perhaps Chikako could give you a foot massage?"

"No! I want you to!" She wailed turning around and staring up at him with tear filled eyes. "please...?"

He looked at her exasperated before he gestured for her to sit down on the futon. "I can say that I have never done this before so do not complain if it is not to your standards." He warned as he took one of her sore feet in his hands and started working his hands over it.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as he massaged the ache away from her sore foot. For the first time in the day she was actually quite content, and happy. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was thinking that he would make a good massage therapist... But for now she enjoyed getting payback for the hell he had inadvertently put her through...There was no way he was getting even after this.

* * *

As it turns out he got even without trying. She was days from giving birth and she was crankier than ever, this day especially. She didn't even want to eat, she found that she got sick to her stomach when she even thought about food. Add that to the fact that Touga was hovering even more so than ever... Even Masami had taken to hovering though she was not sure why. All she knew was that she was sick to her stomach, she didn't want to eat, and she was tired as hell, and her back hurt like hell. It was so bad that it shot back around into her stomach where it intensified to the point that she wanted to cry. But she resisted as best she could. All of this made for one Kagome on a fucking warpath. Which is why the shiro was in scrambles as everyone tried to get away from her, with the exceptions of her mate, his mother, and Chikako.

Somehow during the course of the day she had found herself in the gardens, without her group of hovering followers. Touga had been called off to deal with some sort of emergency, Masami had to go with him for some reason, and Chikako had to go and see to her chores. So she had left the safety of her room, where her mate had expressly forbidden her from leaving without him, to wander the shiro grounds.

But apparently she was never one to learn her lesson, because she had quickly wandered into the gardens and settled herself against a maple tree. A decision that she immediately regretted after she realized that she could not get back to her feet on her own.

"Dammit all to hell!" She cursed when she tried to get up to go to a nearby stone bench and sit there instead, only to find that she couldn't. So with a scowl she sat there cursing the gods, and her mate, and the world. All the while the pain in her back only intensified, and came in quicker phases.

That was how Masami, and Touga found her some time later after meeting with the military council. "Love I told you not to leave our chambers without me." Touga chastised while he moved to help her stand.

When he jostled her a vicious jolt of pain shot through her back and she released a pained squeal, and clutched onto his armor until her hands turned deathly white. Everything seemed to freeze for several seconds as a strange splashing sound assaulted her ears. She turned wide scared eyes down at her now soaked kimono, and the damp ground, before finally coming to rest her gaze on Touga's shocked face. "Uhhh I think my water broke."

That seemed to get him moving, a little too fast in fact, for the next thing she knew she was in a room that had been set up specifically for her to give birth in, and her head was spinning until she saw stars.

"Get Chiyo in here now!"

She heard him yelling, and then a commotion before several faces appeared above her.

"Kagome-sama I need to examine you okay?" The elderly face of Chiyo peered down at her.

She just nodded and let her do whatever she wanted, even if that meant that the woman was going to prod around at her privates. It's not like it could make the pain any worse... Hell she doubted that the pain could get worse at all! She turned her head to stare at her mate when he took her hand and started fussing over her, and meeting his eyes dead she muttered. "I hate you."

* * *

Another pained cry made his ears ring, not that he was going to leave the room to save his hearing. His mate was crying as her body was racked with pain. He just did his best to soothe her, not that his efforts were helping at all.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" She cried out on a particularly sharp contraction.

He shuddered and wiped the sweat from her forehead..."And she had not even started the actual birthing process yet..." He thought to himself distractedly. "You are doing well love. Just breathe deep, and relax as much as you can."

"YOU BREATHE! YOU HAVE A BABY PUSHING ITS' WAY OUT OF YOUR BODY AND SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" She screeched completely ignoring Chiyo as the elderly ningen made her way back into the room. She even proceeded to ignore her as the woman once again checked her to see her progress. "I AM NEVER EVER EVER HAVING SEX WITH YOU EVER AGAIN! OR IF I DO AND I GET PREGNANT I AM GOING TO CAST A SPELL ON YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN FEEL THIS! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU!"

"Touga-sama she is ready to proceed." Chiyo informed him as she moved to wash her hands for the actual delivery.

Before he could say anything at all, or move to prop Kagome up so she could push she surprised all of them by closing her legs and crossing her arms across her chest. "NO I AM NOT HAVING A BABY TODAY!"

Everyone sweatdropped at her declaration. "Love the pup is coming whether you want him to or not... So please do not be difficult right now." His words fell on deaf ears apparently, because when he tried to prop her up she bit his hand rather viciously.

"I SAID NO! NOT UNTIL YOU APOLOGIZE FOR DOING THIS TO ME!"

"I am not going to apologize for pupping you." He bit out and, aggravation getting the better of him he forcefully propped her up against him.

"I HATE YOU!"

Was it a ningen thing to be so unreasonable during labor? That was what he was thinking as he got Kagome into position and awaited Chiyo's instructions. He was thankful that he had managed to find a ningen midwife that was willing to work with them.

"Ok Kagome-sama on the count of three I want you to push until I tell you to stop. One, two, three PUSH!"

With a strained cry Kagome leaned forward and pushed so hard that her muscles tensed up. "I HATE YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS SHIT TO ME?!" She cried out between gasping breaths.

"Shhh you do not mean that love." He cooed pushing her forward. One of his hands drifted over to a small basin with a rag and he hurriedly wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Okay Kagome-sama you can stop now."

With a shuddering breath his mate slumped back against him gasping, and panting. "I'M GOING TO PURIFY YOUR MALE PARTS!" She hissed out once she could properly scream again.

He shot wide eyes over to Chiyo and was glad to see that she looked unsurprised by the threat against him. "Do ningen females always make threats like this during childbirth?"

"Yes they do...though Kagome-sama seems much more aggressive than those I have seen." Chiyo answered him though she never took her eyes off of her work. "Get her ready again Touga-sama, she is almost ready to go again." She muttered distractedly as his mate cried out in the midst of another contraction.

"I'M NEVER HAVING ANOTHER PUP AGAIN EVER! I'M NEVER HAVING SEX AGAIN! I SWEAR AN OATH OF CELIBESY!"

"Okay Kagome-sama are you ready?"

"I'll do fucking cartwheels if it'll get this little fucker out of me!" Kagome shot back clutching at anything within reach.

On Chiyo's signal he helped Kagome into position and pushed her forward while she pushed. He had never felt so much anxiousness, and excitement in his life, though he did feel sorrow that his mate had to endure this pain. It was just a part of life.

"Ok the head is out! One more push ought to do it."

His breath caught in his throat and it seemed as if everything moved in slow motion, the world around him blurred as Kagome leaned forward, and with a scream gave one last mighty push. Everything came to a standstill a second before a soft keening wail was heard. Kagome plopped back against him as Chiyo held their firstborn up for them to see.

"It is a boy." She smiled as she cleaned the baby quickly, and efficiently before handing him over to his mother.

Two small puppy ears twitched atop a small head of snow white hair. Large golden eyes stared up at them curiously as his little nose twitched furiously, taking in their scent. His face was round and chubby, but to him the boy was absolutely perfect.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome cooed breathing a sigh of relief. "It's him...I knew it would be." She held out a delicate finger and gently rubbed one of his soft puppy ears, which caused Inuyasha to let out a little contented growl. It came out more as a gurgle, though it was still endearing.

"He is beautiful love, you did well to get him here." He reached forward and gently stroked the pup's face just so that he could feel him. Never in all of his dreams did he ever think that his pup would be so perfect...

Inuyasha suddenly let out a small cry as he held out his hands towards Kagome. "Ummm is he hungry?"

"Yes he is." he helped her to sit up and supported her weight while she shrugged her yukata aside, and lifted Inuyasha to her exposed breast.

"It tickles..." Kagome whispered in awe her eyes never leaving the nursing pup. "Let's have another one!"

He wanted to fall over at the absurdity of that after she had just spent the last few hours spewing death threats to him for getting her pregnant. Instead he just placated her gently. "Maybe when he is a little older...We will have our hands full with this one for a while." And they would too...inus were after all very curious creatures.

"M'kay...Do I have to burp him like a ningen baby?" She asked curiously after Inuyasha released her, having apparently had his fill for now.

"It would not hurt." Fascinated. He felt fascinated as he watched her nurse Inuyasha, and then burp him. Something about having a pup with your soul mate made it an entirely new experience, one that was unforgettable. One that he hoped to repeat again in the future, maybe several times over, and hopefully with a daughter as the result.

With little coaxing Inuyasha finally burped, he was proving to be an easy pup to care for. At least for now, but he was tired from the ordeal, as was Kagome.

So he shrugged out from behind his mate and laid her, and Inuyasha down to sleep, smiling at Kagome when she rolled onto her side and pulled Inuyasha into the curve of her arm. "Rest now, I will watch over you."

"Kay...night Touga...night Yash..." Kagome muttered as her eyelids struggled to remain open, before finally falling closed. Inuyasha quickly followed after not even moments later, cooing and snuggling into his mother's chest.

In that moment he had never felt happier, or more content. He loved his mate, and their pup more than anything that could ever exist in the world...

* * *

Hey guys sorry that the birth may seem a bit unexpected...I wanted to mash it up so that I could get into the Inuyasha growing up fluff! And after that there will be another pup, and some drama, etc... Anyways R&R!


	12. Chapter 12

So I wanted to take this chance to thank everyone for their reviews for the last chapter! They were awesome and I really appreciate it! There are going to be some major timeskips starting this chapter.. Gotta get to the other pup, and dealing with Ryuukotsusei... So on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Inuyasha cooed up at her from the crook of her arms, and she smiled back while she made baby talk to him. He was just the cutest baby she had ever seen in her life, and she was crazy possessive over him. Hell she never even put him down if she could help it. Touga had to steal him from her to get to hold him at all.

"I knew you would be a fantastic mother love. Inuyasha is always happiest with you."

She spun around with a big smile plastered on her face and held out Inuyasha for him to see. "How do you like his outfit?" She asked while she fingered the small white puppies on the red footy pajamas.

He scowled at her and shook his head exasperated, before he approached her and sat down next to her hands held out for Inuyasha. "You and those strange garments..."

She hesitantly handed Inuyasha over to Touga, whining slightly when she was separated from him. "I like it...Inuyasha likes it..." Though she actually wanted to see the little one wearing his robe of the firerat again. The puppies would have to do for now.

"I do not think that Inuyasha likes much besides you, and I." Touga chuckled down at Inuyasha when the pup cooed, and giggled. "I was thinking about having my seamstress fashion a special garb for him."

Had he read her mind? "Oh? Like what?"

"I was thinking of having it fashioned from the fur of the firerat. That way it would be fire resistant, self cleaning, and more durable than ningen armor. I think it would also go well with his appearance." He raised Inuyasha up and nuzzled his face affectionately.

"Well the Inuyasha I knew wore the robe of the firerat and it looked good on him, and it saved his life quite a few times." She agreed with him while she pressed herself against his side, and stared down at Inuyasha who cooed up at her. She leaned down and kissed his little cheek causing him to giggle. "It's a great idea...But you should probably have another one made for the other pup that I am planning on getting out of you."

"And to think that you were threatening me with death when you were giving birth to Inuyasha..." Touga sighed with a wistful smile even as Inuyasha started to fuss. He handed him back to her and pulled her into his lap.

"I want a daughter...and I will get one even if I have to have a hundred pups..." She joked hoping that she didn't actually have to go that far to have a daughter.

"Well I will be more than willing to give you another pup after Inuyasha grows up a bit...another fifty years from now..."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Fifty years? Why do we have to wait so long?" She turned and glared at him, though that was short lived when Inuyasha started to cry. "We will talk about this later." With that she turned back around and tended to Inuyasha, poor thing was hungry...

* * *

"Kagome love he will be just fine let him go." Touga chastised her when she put Inuyasha on his feet, and refused to let him go so that he could walk.

"Touga is right dear, Inuyasha is more than strong enough to support his weight, and walk." Ai giggled from where she was sitting on the couch, Souta right beside her.

It was never that easy with Kagome though... She was the most loving, and overprotective mother he had ever seen in his long life. She fawned over Inuyasha, and in return the pup loved her more than anyone else. "Just let him try love."

"Ok but if he falls and hurts himself..." Kagome trailed off threateningly even as she released Inuyasha and let him go.

He toddled forward on shaky feet cooing, and giggling. "Mamamamamamamama! Dadadadadadadada!" He clapped his chubby little hands and squealed excitedly as he made his way to Touga first. "Dadadadadadadada!" And he held his little arms out to be picked up.

"That's my boy." He cooed as he bent to pick his pup up. "See love he was just fine! In fact I think he would have been walking already if he had been given the chance."

"Well excuse me!" Kagome huffed irritably. "I just wanted to make sure that he didn't hurt himself!"

"Mamamamamama!" Inuyasha chanted before he could answer her.

"I think he wants you love." He nuzzled Inuyasha once before handing him back over to his mother.

"Of course he does! He loves his mama! Don't you baby?" Kagome cooed blowing raspberries against his little cheeks causing Inuyasha to giggle again.

"Mamamamama!"

"Does Inuyasha want to wear his puppy pajamas?" Kagome smiled brightly down at the little one before she turned and grabbed the small diaper bag that she had packed for their stay.

And of course she had to pull out the accursed puppy pajamas... He scowled and growled low in his throat. "What is wrong with his firerat robe?"

"Nothing! He just likes his puppy pajamas!" Kagome snapped as she set Inuyasha down and started changing him into the infernal garment. And what was worse was that Inuyasha loved the blasted outfit too! In fact he wore it more than he wore anything else, and even his mother was amused by it.

Of course as soon as Inuyasha was dressed her squealed and pulled at the little white puppies while he chanted. "Dada!" And he even looked in his direction happily.

Oh was he going to get his mate back for this later...

"Can I show Inuyasha how to play tekken now?"

"What is a tekken?" He asked changing his attention so that it rested on Souta.

"It's only the best fighting game ever! Come on I can show you and Yash how to play!" Souta got out excitedly before he scooped Inuyasha up from the floor and took off towards his room.

He shared a look with Kagome before he followed after Souta. Needless to say he learned exactly what a tekken was, and he was going to make sure that Inuyasha stayed far away...

* * *

"Mama!" Inuyasha called out to her. She turned from her gardening to watch him as he scrambled over to her, nearly tripping over himself in the process. She opened her arms wide and enveloped him in a hug as soon as he got close enough. Three years had passed since Inuyasha was born, and he was just the cutest little toddler ever. And that also meant that as an inu pup who was learning his independence, he tended to get into worlds of trouble...

"What did you do baby?" She asked when he giggled mischievously. Gods could only know what he was up to...

"I snuck into the dojo and threw rocks at Sessh." He giggled.

"Oh?" Though she supposed that Sesshomaru deserved it after the way he treated her, and Inuyasha. That most certainly had not changed. Though she had begged Touga not to become violent with his eldest, somehow it didn't seem like it would help the situation at all. "I bet he was mad... Does your daddy know?"

"No! You can't tell daddy or else I'll get in trouble!" Inuyasha whispered loudly, apparently trying to be stealthy.

"Whatever would you be getting in trouble for my son?"

Both of them turned towards Touga as he strolled into the gardens, Inuyasha scrambling around to hide behind her as he closed in on them. "Sesshy did it!"

"Oh?" Touga shared a mischievous look with her before he reached behind her and grabbed Inuyasha.

"Daddy no! Sesshy made me throw rocks at him!" Inuyasha growled while he dangled helplessly in the air.

"You threw rocks at Sesshomaru? I bet he did not take too kindly to that..."

"Uh uh! He was mad and he growled at me! But I thought it was funny so I ran away!" Inuyasha giggled mischievously.

"Oh? Well he deserved it for all of the teasing that he puts you through."

Teasing was a bit of a stretch...but if it kept Inuyasha from returning his brother's hatred... She watched the two of them with wistful eyes. Touga holding Inuyasha as he had not been able to do in the other timeline, and Inuyasha smiling, and laughing up at his father as he had not been able to. It filled her with a strange sense of being whole, like she had truly made a difference. In a way she really had. They just looked so happy together... Touga was such a great gather to Inuyasha. She was broken out of her reverie when Inuyasha squealed and ducked down into Touga's shoulder. She turned wide blue eyes on a fuming Sesshomaru.

"Haha I got you Sesshy!" Inuyasha giggled peeking out from Touga's shoulder at Sesshomaru.

"Half breed! You dare to throw rocks at this Sesshomaru?"

Before she could say anything Inuyasha's voice snapped her attention to him.

"Papa what's a half breed?" Inuyasha questioned in all of his childlike curiosity.

That set her off before anyone could react, and in a second she found herself face to face with Sesshomaru her reiki flowing into the air threateningly. "HOW DARE YOU CALL MY SON THAT! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"Papa why is mama bein mean to Sessh? Did he do something to her?"

She was so angry that he had treated her son that way! Even if Inuyasha didn't understand what the deal was! She would not allow anyone to call her son a half breed! "Whether you like it or not you pompous ass, he is still your blood! Hanyou or not! And I will not tolerate you treating him like this!"

"Kagome calm yourself. Sesshomaru stop that growling and back away from my mate!"

"No Touga his behavior is not acceptable! Inuyasha is just a boy!" She hissed jamming a reiki coated finger into Sesshomaru's chest, which singed his chest, and sent him skidding back across the grass. "I WILL PURIFY YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! DON'T YOU EVER TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Anger getting the better of her she went to lunge at him with her fist coated in reiki, but she was stopped by a powerful arm wrapping around her chest.

"Enough! Both of you are scaring Inuyasha!" Touga shouted completely ignoring Kagome's protests. He placed her behind him, and handed her Inuyasha who quickly buried his face into her hair. "Sesshomaru if you desire to come and visit me here, than you WILL treat my mate, and pup with respect! Whether you like it or not Inuyasha is your brother! And Kagome is the Alpha bitch! I will not tolerate behavior like this from you any longer!"

"Mama..." Inuyasha whimpered quivering from fear as he buried his face further into her hair.

"It'll be okay baby...I'm sorry for scaring you." She cooed rocking him, though her eyes never left Touga, and Sesshomaru. Surprisingly Touga was calm, and composed though that was most likely because of Inuyasha's presence.

"If you stay you will obey do you understand me?" Touga warned him one last time.

"Hn." Of course Sesshomaru did not give a verbal answer, instead he simply turned and stalked back into the shiro. It was obvious that this wasn't yet over.

* * *

"Grandma can you teach me how to fly like you, and papa?" Inuyasha asked curiously from where he sat in Masami's lap.

"Sorry koinu but you do not have the power to fly..." As soon as a crestfallen look broke out across Inuyasha's face she was quick to placate. "But I can take you flying with me koinu! Does that sound good?"

"Yeah! Mama can I go flyin with grandma?"

"Sure baby just behave yourself for her." Kagome answered with a small smile.

"I will mama promises! Tell papa that when I come back I'll be a big boy pup, and then he can teach me how to play with swords!" He declared triumphantly before turning wide excited eyes on Masami, and taking her hand excitedly. "C'mon grandma!"

"Okay koinu let us go!" Masami laughed before she scooped Inuyasha into her arms and folded them into her light orb.

She watched them go with a wistful smile, thankful that at least one of Touga's parents wanted to be a part of Inuyasha's life. Truth be told Masami loved Inuyasha to death, and they were always together whenever Touga, or herself were busy. She turned and wandered back into the shiro. A good walk sounded good right about now, but before she could leave she needed to get her bow, and arrows. Magatsuhi was still at large, and as they had thought Midoriko had never been born... And over the last three years she had discovered new powers that she had never had before, such as the ability to possess ningens, and youkais, purify souls, and seizing them. It turns out that Touga had been right, though that had made her life even more difficult as her powers had progressed to new levels. Youkais often hunted her with a passion that astounded her at times, and ningen villages had taken to calling on her for aid almost on a daily basis. Her skills were so sought after that at times she could not even fathom how she still had energy to move at the end of the day. But if she were being honest she rarely tired anymore, even physically. Though that was thanks to the physical training that Touga had put her through per her request. She would wager that she was on a level of physical strength similar to Sango, and when she focused reiki into her arms, and legs she could attain youkai strength, and speed.

As she approached her chambers her thoughts turned to a different direction. Touga was becoming increasingly worried about her wellbeing due to all of the battles she was taking part in. Not that he ever let her go alone, no he was always right there beside her, but he still worried beyond belief. So much so that he had gone to Hosenki to attain the Kongosoha technique, and to ask for his friend to fashion a special pearl that he could hide his shiro, and the surrounding area in, that way Kagome, and Inuyasha could wander safely and never leave the safety of the pearl. Needless to say she had protested that it didn't need to be done, but he had insisted, and Hosenki had said that it would take some time to complete.

She entered her chambers and retrieve her bow, and arrows from where the sat against the far wall. For some reason she just felt that she had to leave the shiro grounds today... So she stopped to inform Chikako of her plans, and with orders for the tora to inform Touga, she left the shiro grounds. What would she find that beckoned her so?

She traversed the dense foliage with practiced ease though she didn't know where she was going, or what she was looking for. There was just this pull on her soul, one that she couldn't deny even if she wanted to. So she moved forward towards what? She had no idea. But the pull would not be denied, and as she traversed deeper into the foliage it only intensified in strength until it was driving her nearly insane. But as she drew closer as the time went on she recognized two auras, one that she didn't recognize though it was powerful, and another that she did remember. Kirara? She hurried her pace to reach the nekomanta whose aura was distressed. What was happening to her? And whose aura was bearing down on the neko so threateningly?

She sprinted through the forest so fast that the trees blurred around her until the closely resembled brown, and green blobs, but even still she didn't slow her pace, and in record time she reached the spot where Kirara's aura was pulsing erratically from. Throwing herself from the brush she barely had time to assess the situation at all before a large coagulation of youkais were bearing down on her. Her hand instantly shot back to her quiver and she notched an arrow in record time, before releasing it. The youkai swerved at the last second to avoid being hit with the full brunt of the arrow's power, though it badly injured his left side. It hissed in anger and she went to draw another arrow to take it down, only to freeze when its' head split open and a ningen torso emerged from the inside of its' body. She watched with weary eyes as the familiar figure of Magatsuhi was revealed to her, from his dark gray hair, to his beady black eyes, to the condescending sneer on his face... He looked the same as he did when she had met him in her time, though it was obvious that he was not complete yet from his power level.

"I was wondering when I would see you again woman..." He sneered down at her lustfully. "I've been busy since we last met, gathering power so that I could possess you. But now I question why I ever wanted you...when I desire to spill your blood so much more..."

Her blood ran cold and she hurriedly retrieved another arrow and aimed it at him. "Save your words for someone who cares!" She went to release her arrow and purify him when his laughter brought her up short.

His tentacles reached behind him and retrieved Kirara's battered form before dangling it in front of her. "But what about the neko? You were worried about her weren't you? I could sense it in your thoughts..." He gave Kirara a none too gentle shake. "I was going to absorb her but you got here before I could. Maybe I should just kill her... It's not like a miko would care about a worthless youkai right?"

When he went to rip Kirara apart she quickly lined up another shot and fired, purifying the mass of restraining tentacles. Kirara's body dropped towards the ground and she moved to erect a barrier around her to protect her, while she herself moved to assault Magatsuhi. Though it appeared that he had other plans instead.

"No no little miko... I would be a fool to attack you here, and now. Not only do I not possess the power to defeat you, your blasted male is closing in on us. So I will leave this battle to be fought another day...Farewell Kagome."

"WAIT! YOU COWARD COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!" She screamed when he folded himself into a shoki cloud and took off into the sky before she could react. Her words fell on deaf ears, and she cursed herself for missing out on this chance.

"Kagome!"

She sighed and slung her bow on her shoulder before she moved to pick up Kirara and cradle her in her arms. No sooner had she done so then Touga came bursting into the clearing in a near panic.

"Kagome what are you doing out here?! I was worried sick when Chikako informed me that you left the shiro grounds without me!" In a second he had closed the space between them, at which point he proceeded to nuzzle, and sniff her while he released little displeased growls.

"I sensed something and I came to investigate... And it was a good thing that I did." She pulled back and looked down at Kirara. "This is a familiar face to me."

"Oh? One of your future companions?" He asked knowingly, assessing Kirara's wounds.

"Yeah this is Kirara, she was Sango's youkai companion. I was actually surprised to see her out here, I figured that she would be in the Tajiya village..."

"Well for now we need to focus on getting her treated for her injuries love. Come let us return to the shiro so that Suki can take a look at her."

"Ok." She held Kirara even closer as he formed his youki cloud underneath them and took to the sky. Hopefully Kirara would be okay...

* * *

"Mama why do you got a kitty neko? Can we keep her? Can I ride her? Can I feed her? Can I-!"

"Baby I don't know if she will want to stay." Kagome placated Inuyasha from where she sat besides Kirara's little bed. "But if she does want to stay you will have to ask her if she will let you ride her." She added as an afterthought.

"M'kay..." Silence fell over them for several moments, but with Inuyasha's inquisitive nature it was short lived. "Mama what if daddy turns into a big doggy and chases her? Inus don't like kitty nekos."

Despite her somber mood she couldn't help but to giggle at Inuyasha. "Oh he might! Maybe you should go and tell him that he can't do that because it is rude!"

"Okay I'll go and tell daddy that he can't chase the kitty neko-sama because it's rude!" Inuyasha saluted before he turned and scrambled out of the room to tell his father.

"Oh my... Touga is going to be so put out by that..." She giggled before turning her attention back to Kirara. Truthfully she should be waking up anytime now, so she didn't want to leave her side. When they had brought her in Kirara's youki had been severely depleted, and her body had been wracked with injury. Suki had not been sure that the neko would make it, but she had refused to give up and see her friend die. So she had taken to caring for the little neko 24/7 and it showed in how much healthier Kirara looked now.

One of Kirara's tails twitched drawing her attention from her musing. "Kirara...?" She questioned waiting on bated breath for some sort of answer. An answer that she got when the other tail twitched, and then Kirara blinked leery red eyes open. "Kirara?"

Slitted red eyes drifted up to meet hers though they were not distrustful, merely curious. A soft mewl escaped from the little neko as she shifted on her bedding.

"Are you okay? I was worried when Magatsuhi-!" She cut herself off and shook her head at her overeagerness. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself did I?"

Kirara merely regarded her with a flick of one of her tails, and a soft mewl.

"My name is Kagome and I am the Lady of the Western lands. I am also the one that saved you from Magatsuhi." It was awkward, and she wondered if Kirara could even understand her as she was. Had she even been to the slayer village before? Could she understand ningen speech? "Ummm do you understand me?"

"Mew!" Kirara mewled tails swishing back and forth languidly.

"Ok that's a relief! So as I was saying I saved you from the youkai that was trying to absorb your power. You were badly hurt so my mate, and I took you back to our shiro so that one of our court healers could see to your injuries." She really wished that she could understand what Kirara was thinking...

Touga chose that moment to enter the room with Inuyasha in his arms, the latter was giggling, while Touga himself was glaring at her playfully. "Do not chase the neko huh?"

"Inuyasha was the one that said it Touga!" She shot back with a laugh.

"Yeah I did! But it's true daddy! You can't chase the neko kitty cuz she will be scared of you!" Inuyasha finished with a serious nod.

"Oh? Well that means that you cannot chase her either as you are an inu as well."

"Awww but I want to!" Inuyasha whined pitifully. He turned to her with pleading eyes only to stop short when he saw that Kirara was awake. "THE KITTY IS AWAKE!" He squealed scrambling out of his father's arms to shoot across the floor to where Kirara was resting. "So cute..." He patted Kirara on the head gently causing her to purr.

"Kirara this is my son Inuyasha." Kagome introduced them before she pointed at Touga. "And this is my mate Touga."

Kirara just mewled and scampered into her lap despite Inuyasha's indignant protests. "Mew."

"Mama the kitty likes you more then me! That's not fair!" Inuyasha groused reaching out for Kirara again.

She slapped his hands away and pinned him with a stern look. "No Inuyasha! Kirara is still sore and she doesn't want to play! You have to respect her when she says she's done playing with you!"

"Aww but mama..."

"No buts! You can play with her later! If she decides to stay that is..." She trailed off staring down at Kirara hopefully.

"Mew." Kirara purred and curled into a ball to sleep.

"She said that she owes you her life, and she would be more than happy to have you as her mistress." Touga supplied when all she could do was give Kirara a stupid look.

"Oh...Well then I guess that settles it! From now on Kirara is a part of the family!" And truthfully she felt a little bit more whole with the new addition, and she hadn't thought that possible before. But as Inuyasha squealed and rambled on about making a new friend she figured that this was just meant to be.

* * *

R&R


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the delay with this update guys I had to alternate and type up another chapter for Finding Happiness Against All Odds so that I could send it to my beta. Then I was busy the last few days with family stuff...Ugh! So anyways here's the next chapter for you! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

"Mother where are you going?"

Kagome froze and turned around to face Inuyasha's face. A neighboring village had called for her aid and she was just getting ready to leave, though Touga was busy at the Western shiro so he couldn't go with her. That also meant that he would freak out when he got back and found out that she had left without him. But she couldn't leave that village to a horde of youkai despite his wishes so... Lying to Inuyasha would serve no purpose, he was five years old so he wouldn't get angry at her or anything... But still if she wasn't back before Touga was, he would definitely let it slip and then she would be in trouble... "I have to go to a neighboring village to help with a youkai problem. I promise to be back soon!"

And just like that Inuyasha's face clouded over with anger. "No! Father said that you can't go without him! I have to listen when he tells me to do stuff so you have to too!" With that he latched onto her leg in an attempt to slow her down, and prevent her from leaving.

"Inuyasha let go of mommy's leg..." She ordered him softly.

"NO! I don't want you to go! Father said you can't go without him! It's bad if you don't listen!" He persisted strengthening his hold on her leg.

With a sigh she leaned down and gently pried his arms from around her legs, before she met his eyes. "Koinu I need to go or else people will be hurt... Your Father will understand when I tell him what happened. But for now I need to go before people get hurt. Okay?"

"But Mother... I don't want you to go..." Inuyasha whined big fat tears building up in his eyes. "What if you get hurt...?"

"I won't koinu, I promise you. Now go and find Chikako she will take care of you." She hugged him tightly before releasing him and pushing him towards the door.

"Come back safe mama..." Inuyasha pleaded with one last sad look in her direction.

Once he was gone she checked her quivers, yes quivers as in more than one. She had to carry at least three when she left the shiro due to the fact that youkais hated her so much. Then she checked her wrist blades, and the tanto that she hid in her sleeve. "Check! Everything is good to go!" And somehow she knew that she would be needing every bit of it...

* * *

She had Kirara drop her off at the village that had been plagued by a recent string of youkai attacks, before she sent her back with instructions to come and retrieve her in three days. Once her neko companion was nothing more than a little dot on the horizon she turned and made her way into the village, ignoring all of the villagers who bowed to her as if she was a goddess. After the years had gone by she had gotten used to it, but she still did not want to be treated like a kami...she was just a ningen. As she traversed through the village she expected to feel youki of some sort hanging in the air but there was nothing... If she was being honest it unsettled her, youki was always left behind in the earth after a youkai attack. So to feel none...was wrong.

The village Headsman came down to meet her near the shrine. "Ah Kagome-sama it is an honor to meet you!" The older man bowed reverently to her.

"Ah please Seiji-sama do not bow to me! I merely came as a faithful servant of the gods to rid your village of the youkai plaguing your people. The formalities are not necessary." She bowed back formally nonetheless. "Now why don't we sit down and speak on the recent attacks so that I may get a better feel for the youkais that I hunt."

"Ah of course Kagome-sama come with me!" Seiji led her up the shrine steps to the shrine grounds where several wooden benches sat. He led her over to one and sat down motioning for her to join him.

She moved to sit beside him marveling that they even had benches, most ningen villages of this age didn't... But she was getting ahead of herself... "So Seiji-sama why don't you start by telling me about the size of the horde, and their races?"

His face clouded over with uncertainty but he continued on nonetheless. "Well you see Kagome-sama the youkais started out as one massive youkai... But when the village men attacked it, it split into multiple foes...of all different kinds. It was like a massive conjoining of youkais..." He trailed off quietly.

Well wasn't this just a bitch? She would bet her bow that it was Magatsuhi...which meant that she needed to proceed carefully. And for the first time she recognized that this village was close to where the taijiya village would one day be built...soon... "I think that I can surmise what you are talking about Seiji-sama. And rest assured that I will see to it immediately." She knew where to go...to the large cave a few hours outside of the village. The place where Midoriko had met her unfortunate end... "I should get going so that I can catch up to him." She stood and bowed before straightening.

He mirrored her movements with a sad look in his eyes. "Please be careful Kagome-sama...I would hate to be responsible for your death..."

"I know. I will be as careful as possible, but know that killing the youkai is my priority regardless of what happens to me." And it was because if Magatsuhi was allowed to live he would reek havoc on all of Japan...until Touga intercepted him, and the two would undoubtedly kill each other. She couldn't let that happen.

* * *

The cave entrance was just as foreboding as it had been when she had been here with Inuyasha in the future... And the youki she felt resonating from the cave was not making matters any better... Going in would ensure that they were trapped together in a confined space...but drawing him out would ensure that he could escape should the battle get dicey...And that was something that she could not chance... So steeling herself she descended into the darkness after she placed a barrier over the cave entrance. "Don't be afraid...no matter what happens...even if I die I will take him with me...So that no one will ever have to suffer because of him again."

"Brave words miko."

She entered the main chamber where the voice had resounded from and she came face to face with a massive youkai that she recognized as Magatsuhi's true form. Words could not describe it, it was just a random assortment of slithering youkai, and giant jaws...that if she wasn't careful would tear her apart.

"I have waited long enough to claim my prize miko...there is no one to save you from me this time." He chuckled darkly his red eyes glowing at the promise of shedding her blood. And with that he lunged at her jaws bared, as a legion of youkai shot out from his body.

She readied her bow with an air of defiance, and courage, and fired.

* * *

He landed in the courtyard and Inuyasha came running out to meet him, Chikako right behind him. He leaned down and caught his pup in his arms and hugged him.

"Father I missed you! Did you get after Sesshy when you were gone?" Inuyasha asked excited to have him back home.

"No he was on his best behavior...were you?" He trailed off while his eyes roamed over to the shiro entrance where Kagome had still not exited from. "Where is your mother?"

And just like that Inuyasa, and even Chikako's demeanor changed completely before Inuyasha answered in a small voice. "She left a couple days ago..."

"Did she? Well where did she go?" Anger welled up inside of him. Kagome knew that she was not to go anywhere to fight youkai without him! It was bad enough that due to her massive reiki, and her abilities they were constantly fighting youki whenever they left the shiro...

At that point Chikako cut in as she actually knew where Kagome went. "She left for a ningen village six days ago, and has yet to return. Kirara went to retrieve her several days ago, but neither of them has returned yet."

He cursed and sat Inuyasha on his feet. "I am going to go and find her! Watch after Inuyasha while I am gone!"

"Hai Touga-sama!" Chikako bowed to him, before she held out a hand to Inuyasha. "Come Yash it is time for your lessons..."

"No! I want to go and save Mother!" Inuyasha protested crossing his arms across his chest, and stomping his foot.

"Inuyasha listen to Chikako! Go and do your lessons and I will bring your Mother back! NOW GO!" He did not mean to get angry at Inuyasha, but the time they spent her arguing was time that Kagome could be in danger. And he could not leave until he was sure that his pup would listen to his orders.

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull at the sharp tone, but it got him to stop protesting. He turned to Chikako and slinked over to her sadness radiating from his aura... "Just bring my mommy back..."

"I will son, I promise. Just behave for Chikako. Chikako which village did she go to?"

"I believe it was the one that had the large cave nestled in the mountains nearby...At least that is what I gathered from Kirara."

"Good. Take good care of Inuyasha, and do not let him leave the shiro grounds." And with that he folded himself into his orb and took to the skies. When he found her he was going to...

* * *

Sweat pooled at her brow as she blocked another set of claws with her left wrist blade, and swiped out with her tanto dispatching over a dozen youkai with one swing. Physical battle was not her comfort zone, but at this point she had no choice as she had run out of arrows days ago. Every legion of youkai that she took down, would be quickly replaced by another one. It was like there was no end to them, though Magatsuhi's strength dropped drastically with every legion of youkai he released from his body. At this rate she was unsure if she could defeat him, without killing herself in the process.

She jumped back to avoid being flattened by a massive tail, and she quickly found herself being surrounded by a horde, so she gritted her teeth and seized their souls making their bodies turn to dust. A small pang of sadness pierced her heart, their souls were gone forever, there would never be another life for them... Though the thought was short lived as Magatsuhi pressed down on her with yet another horde or youkai, and she threw herself back into the fray. Thank gods that Touga had helped her with her physical conditioning, because if he hadn't she would've been screwed.

* * *

He did not even need to stop to ask the villagers if they had seen her, no the massive reiki, and youki auras flaring far above the village was like a beacon to him. One that he quickly shot towards with the intentions of killing the threat to his mate without remorse. But as he landed near the cave mouth he caught Kirara laying near the entrance where a powerful barrier was preventing entrance, though it was obvious that the nekomanta had tried to get in, if the singed fur was any indication. He stepped forward and raised a hand to the barrier, only to have his hand forced back by the potency of the barrier. "DAMN!" Ok now he was pissed! First she goes off without him into serious danger, then she prevents him from coming to her aid when she obviously needed him.

"Grrrrr."

He turned and met Kirara's gaze heatedly. "I know that she is strong but do you feel that aura? It matches Ryuukotsusei's!"

The ground shook with an impact and nearly knocked them off of their feet. Which of course set him off into a rage, and in a second he was in his true form clawing at the barrier despite the burns he was sustaining.

Kirara just watched him with sad eyes. He wasn't getting through that barrier...

* * *

She cursed as several tentacles pierced her midsection tearing through her armor. So much for Touga insisting that she wear it...it did nothing to stop Magatsuhi's attack. She pumped reiki into her arm to hold him back while her other arm hung limply at her side. If she didn't end this fast she was done for...Hell she was probably done for anyways... "Abi-raun-katso-aka!" She shouted gathering her reiki into her body and releasing it in a shockwave, purifying the lesser youkai, and forcing Magatsuhi back. Her tanto lay broken at her feet, and her wrist blades had met their end long ago... Her bow lay useless somewhere nearby, though she could not support it with a broken arm, even if she had arrows... That left her with one choice, one that was not at all favorable... She had to summon up every vestige of strength and seize all of the youkai souls, along with Magatsuhi's at once, and purify them. Which meant that she would most likely die...

"Having seconds thoughts about sacrificing yourself for these wretched ningens Kagome? Do you hesitate to protect your child? Your mate? How pathetic...a servant of the gods values her life more than any other." Magatsuhi sneered condescendingly before he launched himself at her.

She watched him come at her in what seemed like slow motion. He had it wrong, she was not like that... She just wished that she could have done things differently...for Inuyasha, and Touga. But there was no choice this time... And as she gathered every bit of her reiki into her body and seized every youkai soul, including Magatsuhi's she felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

He seemed surprised that he was unable to move, nor could his attachments. "What are you doing miko?! What happened to valuing your life? Think about your child!" Magatsuhi shouted unable to even struggle at this point.

With dead serious eyes clouded over with anguish she answered him. "I am." And then she blasted him with every last bit of reiki she possessed, even gathering the reiki from the barrier and adding that into her attack. A massive shockwave blasted her back against the wall, but she felt no more pain as her eyes were rendered temporarily blind from the blinding pink light. Though she took solace in the screaming from the one that had brought about her death in two separate lifetimes...At least he could not hurt Inuyasha, or Touga. A wistful smile pulled at her lips... Would she ever see them again? Not in this life...With that last morose thought her heart gave one last pump before stilling forever.

* * *

He faltered when the barrier collapsed, though he had no chance to regain himself before he was blown back from the release of such a massive burst of reiki. He hit a rock wall behind him and his vision swam momentarily. The shockwave lasted for several intense moments as multiple youki signatures just dissipated into nothingness, even the largest one. And then there was silence...No sounds, no swell of energy...there was nothing...

Shooting to his feet he dashed into the cave with Kirara right on his heels. The scent of death was heavy in the air, though youkai, or Kagome could not be discerned with how heavy it was. Though as he traversed through mutilated body parts, ash piles, and gaping craters towards the back of the cave he did not have to wonder for long. A sharp pang in his soul alerted him to the fact that Kagome's life had ended, though he refused to believe it until he found her.

Though when he did he wished that he had not... She was laying against the back wall of the cave with her eyes still open, yet unseeing. Her armor lay in tatters around her highlighting that puncture wounds in her chest, and the arm that was laying at her side in a sickly manner.

He approached her slowly his steps suddenly heavy, as tears welled up in his eyes...He fell to his knees and gathered her small broken form into his arms... "Kagome why did you go without me...?"

Her eyes just stared up at him looking dull with death, though fresh tear tracks were visible on her cheeks. Did she cry at the fact that she would never see him, and Inuyasha again...Did she know that she was going to die? Did she regret going without him when that moment of realization came?

Despite his status he buried his face into her bloody hair as his body shook with sobs. How had it ended like this? Why had the gods taken her from him? An emptiness settled in the depths of his soul, and all he wanted to do was join her...But he could not...Inuyasha needed him. So, with tears still streaming down his cheeks he stood with her in his arms and exited the cave. She deserved a proper burial...

"Do you really think that we would bring her here after she suffered so much, just to let her find happiness, and then take it from her? After all that she had done, she does not deserve that."

He froze mid step and shielded his eyes against the suddenly blinding white light in the cave. "Who are you? What do you want?" The power was nearly suffocating him, and he shielded Kagome's dead body from the threat. At least until the light dulled and he made out a luminescent form.

"I am Izanagi the god who created life."

He could make out no defined characteristics of the male, though with so much power he ould only be kami. "What do you want?"

"Omoikane thought it wise to send the little miko here to change the course of fate...and she had done so. She has served the gods well, and she has died in the process. That is a fate that was not originally meant for her, it is our doing youkai. So I am here to restore her life."

Hope welled up inside of him as he looked down at Kagome's unseeing eyes. "You would do that for her? Even knowing that she mated a youkai?"

"That was meant to happen, at least in this new timeline. How can we condemn her for fulfilling the destiny set out for her?"

"True. So you will really give her, her life back? As a kami you are forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs no?"

"I am the forefather of all kami and my word is law. They will not interfere with my decision so worry not. Now I must revive her body before her soul is taken by the messengers of the underworld. For once the soul has been taken there, even I cannot retrieve it..." Wisps of bright light shot out from the bright form and wrapped around Kagome's limp form lighting it up a brilliant shade of gold.

He watched fascinated as the wounds on her body healed and color was restored to her face, and he waited on bated breath for a sign of life from her.

A shuddering breath passed through blood coated lips, and light returned to cerulean blue eyes. They roved up and met his, and her brows furrowed in confusion. "Touga...? I...where is Magatsuhi? Did I kill him?" The light faded and that was when she seemingly noticed it for the first time. "Wha...?"

"A gift for such a worthy daughter of the kami." Izanagi answered her unspoken question.

"What? Who is that? What happened?" Kagome asked getting worked up. Though she did just return from the dead so it was to be expected.

"Love you died during the battle with Magatsuhi...Do you not remember?" He asked her gently.

"Oh...I did didn't I? But then how did I come back to life? Did you save me with Tenseiga?" She asked while her bleary eyes roamed around the dank cave.

"No the kami restored your life in thanks for your service." He answered her casting a grateful look at the god who had ensured that his existence would not be wrought with anguish. "And for that I thank you Izanagi-sama."

"Our daughter deserved to live." Was all that he answered with before his light began to fade.

"A kami saved me?" Kagome muttered staring over into the fading light with somber eyes. "Thank you Izanagi-sama..."

"Thank me not child, you did not deserve death after fighting so valiantly. Know that we are watching over you daughter, and that you carry our power within." And with that he faded completely into nothingness.

"Huh well I was expecting you to have rushed to have Tenseiga made to save me instead...but..." She trailed off tiredly.

And just like that his anger was back full force. "You have some explaining to do mate...after we return to our shiro." He relished in the scared whimper from her as he and Kirara made their way out of the cave that would forever be known as the place where Magatsuhi's life had reached its' end.

* * *

Ok so he was pissed that much was obvious...and even Inuyasha was giving her the betrayed look... "Baby are you just going to stand there glaring at me? Or do I get a hug?"

"Hmph! I'm mad at you mama! You said you'd be careful and you lied!" Inuyasha pouted and clung to Toga's leg.

"Okay...well then I guess I will just go to sleep." She decided laying back down on the futon. Jeez even sitting up tired her out after everything that she had been through. Though after six days of nonstop fighting that was to be expected.

"No love we need to talk!" Touga growled pushing Inuyasha over towards Chikako. "Take Inuyasha to his lesson and do not disturb us until I send for you."

Inuyasha tried to protest and she actually found it cute, though Touga obviously didn't with the way he turned and growled at their pup. "Don't growl at him like that!" She snapped glaring at him.

That got his attention on her and he growled at her instead. "I do not want to hear a word out of you right now love! Now Inuyasha go to your lesson so that I may talk to your Mother."

"M'kay but be nice to her..." Inuyasha grumbled as he followed after Chikako.

She wished that she could say that they dissolved into silence but...touga was more livid than she had ever seen him, and as soon as they were alone he exploded.

"HOW COULD YOU GO OFF TO FIGHT SUCH A DANGEROUS ENEMY WITHOUT ME?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT WOULD INUYASHA HAVE GONE THROUGH IF THE GODS HAD NOT SPARED YOU FROM DEATH? HE WOULD HAVE GROWN UP WITHOUT A MOTHER!" He shouted, well more like snarled.

"Touga calm down..." She started but in a second he was in her space yelling at her.

"CALM DOWN?! CALM DOWN?! I FOUND YOU DEAD EARLIER! AND NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?! DO NOT EVER TELL ME TO CALM DOWN AFTER I FOUND YOU THAT WAY! DO YOU KNOW HOW I FELT SEEING MY LIFEMATE DEAD AND BROKEN?! DID YOU EVEN SEE THE WOUNDS ON YOUR BODY BEFORE YOU SACRIFICED YOURSELF?!"

"Well yeah but..." And once again he cut her off.

"NO! NO BUTS! THE WOMAN THAT I LOVE WAS LAYING DEAD AFTER BEING MUTILATED SO BADLY AND YOU ARE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?! DO NOT EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!"

"I don't want to...but I had to do something Touga...Magatsuhi would have destroyed that village, and I'm a miko! It's my duty to protect ningens from troublesome youkai! SO DON'T YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!" She screamed back heatedly. Jeez she had just died and he wanted to go all alpha male screamer on her ass? Of course that didn't go over well with him...

"I WILL YELL AT YOU ALL I WANT! YOU ARE NEVER GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT ME EVER AGAIN! AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT FALL INTO ANYMORE BOUGHTS OF IDIOCY I WILL BE TAKING YOU, AND INUYASHA WITH ME WHEREVER I GO! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" He finished in a roar right in her face.

"I understood the first time! So stop yelling at me..." She hissed back despite the pain his tone was causing her. It wasn't like she wanted to die! She just wanted to make sure that Magatsuhi could never hurt the ones that she cared about... Why couldn't he understand that? "It's not like wanted to die idiot! I just wanted to make sure that he couldn't hurt anyone anymore! Our souls were destined to fight! At least this time one of us won!"

"Barely..." He snarled with barely restrained rage before he surprised her by yanking her up from the futon so that he could crush her to him in a tight embrace. "Do not ever do that to me, or Inuyasha again!"

She relaxed when he nuzzled her hair and whimpered, he was just beside himself with worry. So she wrapped her arms around him and relaxed into his embrace. "I'm sorry that I scared you. But from now on we do everything together...Okay?"

"Agreed. You had best hold to your end of the bargain this time." He muttered before he pulled back and pressed his lips to hers.

"I promise." She muttered against his soft flesh. Why would she ever want to go anywhere without him? She never wanted to ever again...

* * *

I know the battle was weird but I could not write one continuous battle sequence for six straight days in story time! So I broke it up to other POVS while I did little Kagome moments during the battle. I know it's weird but that's how I did it! Sorry about that! ANyways R&R


	14. Chapter 14

To the guest who asked if there was going to be time skips in this story the answer is yes. There already has several and there should be a few more starting in this chapter. Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! IF I DID TOUGA WOULD NOT HAVE DIED SUCH A BULLSHIT DEATH!

* * *

For all of the things that she had done, all of the impossible battles that she had won in her life nothing had prepared her for this day. Souta had died of old age, and after she had returned from that time the well had closed once more. Time continued moving on there with her family, and here with her past family. Yet she, and her love, and their child were all immortal. They were not touched by the hands of time...But her future family was. Her grandfather had died less than a decade after she had come to live here. She had taken it hard...refusing to come out of her room for days afterwards. Touga and Inuyasha had been so worried about her, Inuyasha still being a small pup had tried his best to comfort her, and it was because of his attempt that she had finally pulled herself out of her despair. Though in ways it was short lived as not three decades later, only seconds it seemed to her, her mama passed from cancer. That had been especially difficult to go through the whole process of watching her mother waste away, and knowing that there was nothing that she could do. After she had died her despair had been even worse than with her grandpa. Touga had had to make her eat, after he had broken down the doors to her sitting room. It had taken time to get to being normal again, though having a pup that was so affectionate with her, and a mate that was equally loving had eventually helped her with her anguish. But now Souta was gone...and he had left behind only one son, that lived overseas in America... She had hardly ever seen the kid after he had graduated from High School, he was always busy. So there was nobody left to take care of the Shrine...And through all of the memories she could only focus on the anguish. So consuming was her pain that she felt as if her heart had shattered, its' frayed ends throbbing agonizingly in her chest. A dull ache resonated from in her soul from the grievous wound that fate had dealt it. Would things ever be right again?

* * *

"Father is mother going to be alright? She hasn't come out of her room in days..."

What could he tell his pup? He paused in his paperwork and met Inuyasha's broken gaze. The boy was hurting over Kagome's pain, over her need to keep to herself. He really did love his Mother above all else... "She just needs time Inuyasha...The last of her kin has passed on, and her soul is hurting."

"Shouldn't we be there for her then?" Inuyasha persisted a low whine sounding from the back of his throat. His ears twitched on top of his head as he waited patiently for a response.

"Perhaps we should..." He dropped his ink brush and leaned back to look over his son. He resembled a boy of perhaps ten years of age. Inuyasha was a strong boy, no longer clinging to him when he was scared. The only one that he clung to was Kagome, and that was when he needed reassurance for something. Sure he loved his pup, and Inuyasha loved him, but they were males...Only so much affection would be comfortable for the pup, but Kagome was a whole other story... "Do you wish for me to go with you?"

"Mm hmm...in case she's bad again." Inuyasha mumbled his ears flattening back against his head.

"Very well." Abandoning his work he made his way from him, and his mate's room with his pup right on his heels. He was honestly very worried about her, she had never taken well to loss in the time that he had known her. In fact he had to carry her back through the well in a nearly comatose state every time. She had been completely unresponsive to him, and at first it had terrified him so much that he immediately turned back around and took her back through the well. Her mother had still been alive at that time, and she had told him that Kagome was so consumed by her grief that she had merely went away inside her mind. And after doing it several times, he now knew how to care for her when she was like that.

They finally stopped at the doors to his rooms and he knocked on the shoji softly. "Kagome? Inuyasha wanted to see you."

"Then come in." Her voice drifted out from the quiet room.

Steeling himself he pushed the doors to the room open and entered the room with Inuyasha. Surprisingly enough Kagome was not wasting away in bed, no she was looking out at the garden instead. Inuyasha shot by him and plopped down on the floor beside her, and she turned and opened her arms to him, which he quickly climbed into. "Are you feeling...well?"

"Yeah mother are you feeling better today?" Inuyasha piped up between nuzzling her hair, and shoulder, and neck, pretty much anywhere he could nuzzle her.

"I feel ok...I guess..." She answered distractedly.

There was an odd hint in her voice that Inuyasha seemed to catch as well. She was not okay, something was bothering her... "Love you know that you can talk to me right?"

"Mm hmm." She hmm'd looking at him with sad eyes.

"Then you should talk to me about whatever is bothering you. I will not think any less of you no matter what it is." He was grasping for any way to make her pain lessen, he knew it, and she knew it... But still he could not leave it alone when she needed him. He moved forward and pulled her, and Inuyasha up into his lap so that he could nuzzle her mating mark affectionately. "Talk to me about your pain."

She was quiet for a moment, just staring out the open shoji at the swaying flowers in the garden. "No one will be left to take care of the family shrine...Haru obviously won't do it, the boy has always had his head in the clouds...So that means that the city will claim it, and the land will be used to construction. It will be torn down..all of it..." Her voice broke on the end.

And now it made some sense to him. She was worried about her family's livelihood, and that is what it was to her. So not only was she torn over Souta's death, but she was also torn about the fate of her home, the place where she had grown up. He could understand her upset over it, but if he was alive in that time he would have most likely bought the place to prevent that. Of course that is if he was still alive in that era, which was likely. "Love you do know that you have altered the timelines irrevocably yes?"

"Yes but..."

"That most likely means that I am alive in that time, and that means that I will most likely buy it to prevent the land from being used in that way." He allowed his words to sink in, though he was surprised at her reaction.

"Inuyasha go and play with Kirara for a bit okay? I will come and find you, and we can go and play afterwards."

"But mother..." Inuyasha whined longingly.

"No koinu...I promise to come and play with you later. Now go so that I can talk to papa."

"M'kay but come and find me like you said or else!" He threatened before he hopped up from her lap and streaked out the door.

Once Inuyasha was gone Kagome leaned back against him and all was quiet for some time while she gathered her thoughts. "You died in the original timeline."

His brows furrowed in confusion and he wrapped his arms around her. What was she trying to get at? "Kagome I do not understand..."

"The battle that you died in was against Ryuukotsusei. That battle has not yet taken place, which means that your survival is not guaranteed yet. That is why I wanted to be with you during all of your battles, so that I could prevent your death." Her breath hitched, along with the beating of her heart, and she clenched his hands so hard that the blood flow was cut off. "Promise me that you will not go after him alone."

"I already promised you this love..." Now her persistence made sense to him. She was worried that he would face the same fate at Ryuukotsusei's claws...Dragons were so dangerous because of their impenetrable defenses, so it made sense that he would have had more than enough trouble fighting the bastard.

"There's a way to beat him you know...Inuyasha did."

He was surprised to say the least. "Inuyasha defeated an enemy that I could not?"

"He had our help...and a new attack with Tetsusaiga. Bakuryuha or the Backlash wave."

"Explain this attack to me." He demanded, anything to keep her talking. Though he would be lying if he said that he was not terribly curious.

"Bakuryuha can only be used by one who has mastered the Kaze no Kizu." Kagome started turning around in his lap to face him. "For this attack to work the user's own youki must be stronger than that of their enemy. The Kaze no Kizu will catch the enemy youki and magnify it with their own, before sending it back at their enemy. That was how Inuyasha defeated Ryuukotsusei...With the help of our friends of course."

"How did he learn it?" Perhaps he was in need of some serious training with the sword that he had had little opportunity to use as of late, and never against enemies strong enough to force his hand.

"If you master the Kaze no Kizu you can use the Bakuryuha. You simply need to have an understanding of both attacks, and the youki that surpasses your opponent's youki. You can do it I'm sure of it." She smiled softly and cupped his cheek running her thumb over his crest.

He put his hand over hers and leaned into her touch. It was good to see her smile even if it was meek, it was still something, and he would take it. "Perhaps I should go and practice more with the Tetsusaiga."

"Maybe...Though you should already have an understanding of the technique so it shouldn't be that hard. I could help you out if you need it." She actually looked excited at the prospect of helping him train. "I could use some practice too..."

* * *

Turns out that Touga didn't need any help, for once he knew that there was more beyond the Kaze no Kizu he had mastered the technique in a day. Now he was just practicing it to discover its limits. The same could not be said for her, her mind was clouded with sorrow still, and she made many mistakes in her training. Hell is Magatsuhi could see her, he would be asking himself how he ever lost to such an inept miko. She missed every single target she aimed at, a feat that she had not even done in her beginning days in the Sengoku Jidai. At least then she could come close to the target, now she missed by a mile. She just couldn't focus...and it affected her performance greatly. Which in turn pissed her off to new heights...

All it took was for another arrow to fly way off course for her to lose it, and afterwards she would thank the gods that Inuyasha was off with Masami at that time. With a frustrated scream she broke the practice bow with a loud snap, before she reared her hand back and focusing her reiki into a ball she threw it at the tree she had been aiming at. The ball hit the tree and just exploded shooting debris at her like bullets, and she barely even had time to react before she was knocked to the ground by a large warm body. The debris rained down on Touga though he was more concerned with covering every part of her body against the splintered wood, and rock. After several tense moments the earth settled and he relaxed his tense posture before pulling back hesitantly.

He gave her a wide eyed, yet somehow still disapproving look if that was possible. "Love we have talked about throwing temper tantrums yes?"

She blushed and pouted at him because they had actually talked about it after she had lost it and destroyed half of a forest on one of their trips outside of the shiro. Apparently she had scared the hell out of the poor villagers nearby, though they had a nice new patch of farmland for her efforts, and their fear. Needless to say he had not been pleased with her tantrum... "Yeah yeah I got it! Just get off of me so that I can screw up some more!"

"Perhaps you should take a small break until you calm down..." Weary golden eyes glanced at the destroyed section of trees, and at the remains of the wall... "Yes a break is in order..."

"No a break is not in order! I am not leaving this fucking training field until I hit my target at least once! I never miss like this and it's pissing me off!" She made to push him off but he wasn't having it.

"No more archery for today love. Now if you would like to train I can spar with you with blades if you would like. You have been doing quite well at that lately." He stood and held out a hand to her to pull her up.

She rolled her eyes at him...Oh yeah she was definitely getting better, as in he kicked her ass in five moves instead of one when she had first started... "Why do you want to spar with me? I can't even hold my own for more than a few minutes against you!" So she was doing better than Inuyasha still...but he was a pup. And just because they had started around the same time didn't mean anything!

A devious smirk crossed his features while his right hand snaked down to the curve of her hip. "We could always leave the sparing for later... Or better yet let us make a bet."

"Like what?" Already she didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"If I beat you as fast as you think, then I get to have my way with you tonight, however I want..."

She squawked indignantly and smacked his chest. "Letcher!" Though his terms almost made her want to lose to him...which he probably expected. "And if I win?" There was no way in hell that was happening.

"Hn. What do you want?"

What did she want...? Nothing really came to mind and she simply held up her hands in defeat. "I don't want anything so I admit defeat already...Now can we get on with the sex already?"

"No you have to lose to me before you can get your reward." He admonished her gently before he grabbed two practice swords from a nearby rack and tossed one to her. "You have to make an effort too love or no reward for you."

"Pfft yeah right! You can't keep your hands off of me!" She giggled as she took a defensive stance across from him. This could only end well for her even after he handed her ass to her.

He came at her sword raised overhead, and she raised her own sword with reiki coursing through her arms to block it. A sharp clang rang out in the yard, and her arms jolted at the impact. If she had not pumped reiki into them the bones would have broken. Even with her reiki she could only hold him at bay for a moment so thinking fast she spun around and swiped at the weak spot in his armor. Which he predicted and blocked with ease.

They erupted into a dance of clanging blades, and blurred forms and her eyes raced from move to move to keep track of him. With his speed and strength she had learned to read his movements though she was still learning, but it helped her to dodge his attacks, or block them. Through the flashes that marked their blades she focused on every move he made using it to predict his moves, and she twitched when his left foot slid across the ground and he swiped low trying to catch her legs. She jumped and used his shoulder as leverage to flip over him and push herself into the air where she swiped out in a wide arm at his exposed back.

"Well it seems that when you are having trouble with your archery, you do much better with your sword." Touga chuckled as he blocked her sword without even turning around.

She gritted her teeth and pushed off landing in a crouch and sliding across the ground. "Well you said that I had to earn my reward..."

"I did and I think that you have earned it."

"Too bad because I'm finally getting somewhere now!" She growled coursing her reiki through her body and launching herself back at him. He blocked her and they moved into a series of strikes, and blocks.

Showers of sparks rained down every time they connected, only this time she was on the offensive, and there was no way in hell she was giving him time to recover. If she did he could have her disarmed in a second. So she focused on speed to counter his movements, as she would never beat him in brute strength even with her reiki. But she could match his speed...and then some. She danced around him raven hair flying and being illuminated with each bright spark from their blades. She spun, and ducked, and weaved moving faster than she ever had before, and she was pleased to see the furrow of his brows that signalled his complete concentration. Never before had she been so vicious before, or maybe he was just shocked that she had seemingly memorized his moves. As they locked blades once more she smirked at him, a thin sheen of sweat coating her face. "What's wrong Touga? Can't take it easy on me today can you? You might lose something important if you do."

He scowled at her and in a second he had spun his sword around and disarmed her.

"Dammit I was so close..." She whined chest heaving with exertion. She had taken his sword too close to the hilt, a stupid mistake that normally she wouldn't have made... But she didn't have time to think about it too much when he invaded her personal space and shoved his face in her neck.

"You did very well today love..." He growled into the heated skin of her neck. "You get your reward."

She turned her head at the same time he did and their lips met with force.

"We should go to our room love so that others do not see us like this." He groaned against her lips while he rubbed himself against her.

"So says the one that groped me in front of the entire shiro after we were mated." She giggled with a sharp thrust of her hips against his. "I didn't think you cared about sublty..."

"I do not, but my mother, and Inuyasha could see us. You would not want our son seeing this would you?" Even as he said that he picked her up and slammed her into the wall of the shiro behind her. And once he had her there he promptly started grinding himself into her with vigor.

She reached down and pushed his training hakamas off of his hips, before she slipped herself out of the tight spandex shorts she had been training in.

"Inside..." He muttered even as he moved to her entrance and pushed his way inside. It was almost like he couldn't help himself as he started ruthlessly pumping into her.

She shrugged off her blue tank top and released her chest bindings before she fisted his hair and forced his face down to her chest, crying out when he took her hint and sucked a tiny furled nipple into his mouth. He wrapped his left arm around her and secured her against the wall, while his right hand snaked down to her nether region to play with her. She gasped and cried out from the sharp jolts of pleasure that the dual stimulation caused, her adrenaline fueling her pleasure to new heights. The coil in her stomach tightened and exploded nearly blinding her as white light flashed behind her eyes. Though he didn't seem even close to finishing yet, at least that was the impression that she got when she suddenly found herself on her knees in the dirt, him still driving into her viciously. She fisted the grass and thrust her hips back into his, clenching her inner muscles as if to pull him deeper inside.

He snarled and layered himself completely over her back so that his mouth could search out hers, and once he found it he slammed his lips onto hers and wouldn't let go.

Her back pressed against his chest highlighting every single tight muscle in his abdomen, and she released a shuddering moan into his mouth. Fire raced higher, and hotter with each pass he made into the swollen flesh of her body until she was screaming into his mouth as the coil tightened in her abdomen once more. But she held out for him even as he tried to drive her towards it faster.

"Woman..." He pulled away from her lips to growl threateningly.

"Tou..." She mocked him with a panting breath. "I'm waiting for you..." Though he obviously had other ideas as he bit down on her mating mark. All at once the coil broke and she screamed so loud, and shrill that it startled the bird in the forest nearby. Her body quivered, and tensed, tears spilling from her eyes from such an intense release. And she only cried out again when a sharp searing heat shot into her body, and Touga's growl resonated through her back before he slumped down against her.

She panted to regain her breath after the onslaught of pleasure, the things that this male did to her. And as he twitched and hardened inside of her again she shuddered and whined from the back of her throat. Though a second bought was not meant to be...

"Mother why are you on the ground with Father like that?"

Her eyes bugged out and she shrieked in surprise while her hands shot out to gather her clothes. Though being pinned down on the dirt under a male who was twice as heavy as you made it difficult to move. "Touga get off Inuyasha is right there!" She hissed when he still did not move from her person.

"Inuyasha leave us for now." He ordered completely ignoring her demands.

"Are you hurting Mother? She was screaming..." Inuyasha persisted though he didn't move any closer.

"Inuyasha go to your grandmother now! Your mother and I are busy!" Touga growled his youki elevating.

"Okay!" And with that Inuyasha scampered off to do as his father requested.

Though she was not best pleased with how he had spoken to their son. "What is wrong with you? Why were you so mean to him?!" It was awkward to be yelling at him when she was pinned under him in the dirt, his length still buried inside of her...

"Mates are never to be disturbed during mating." He answered as if it explained everything. "Even by pups..."

"Well can you let me up now? The dirt isn't exactly comfortable to have your breasts pressed into."

"No."

"No?" She echoed with irritation.

"You have not yet received all of your reward." He stated simply.

All she could think was: "Oh shit!"

* * *

Oh shit was right... In fact they left behind oh shit well before she lost the ability to walk without severe pain in her thighs... Now she winced and limped down the hall towards Inuyasha's room, after she had bathed of course... When she reached his door she knocked on it and waited for him to allow her entrance.

"Koinu can I sit with you?" She asked after she had closed the shoji behind her.

"Yeah you can sit." He grumbled from where he was leaned against the wall.

She moved towards him and sat down next to him. "Uhhh your papa wasn't mad at you earlier you know..."

"Yeah he was...he yelled at me and he smelled mad." Inuyasha argued ears flattening against his head.

Well fuck...How could she tell him why his father was angry? Should she just tell him the truth? Weren't youkai supposed to know instinctively what mating was? Shouldn't Inuyasha know? "Well we were doing something very personal...and he didn't want you to see. It's something that little kids aren't supposed to see."

"You were mating."

Her mouth fell open and she scrambled for something to say. "How do you know that?" And she promptly smacked herself in the face. NICE ONE KAGOME!

He gave her an 'are you serious look'. "I asked grandma...and she told me what mating was. She also said that Father would have attacked anyone else for seeing that..."

"Oh." Well she never knew about that. "Well he wasn't mad at you for anything that was your fault koinu. You didn't know what we were doing." Oh god did she feel embarrassed to be having this conversation with him...

"Does mating hurt..?"

OH GOD DID HE ASK HER THAT?! Her gaze shot down to find him staring at her expectantly. What was she supposed to say? "uhh well...for females the first time hurts...and sometimes it can still hurt a little bit from time to time." She grimaced and looked at everything but him. Why her? Why couldn't he have asked his Father?

"So did it hurt earlier? Cuz if if did I'm going to go and yell at Father for hurting you."

If anyone looked at her in that moment they would think that she was a giant tomato or something, that's how dark her blush was.

Thankfully she was saved by Touga walking into the room. "What is going on in here?"

She stood and hastily made her way over to him. "Inuyashaneedsasextalksoyouarethefathergiveittohim!" She bit out before she made a hasty exit leaving the two of them wondering what had happened to her.

"Father did you hurt mama while you were mating her?"

He facepalmed and cursed Kagome for leaving him to face his son. Why did he have to be the one to deal with this? Though he supposed it was his job as Inuyasha's Father to teach him all about mating. So with an nternal curse at his mate he sat down and started to explain the mechanics of mating...Gods damn his life...

* * *

Hahahahahaha poor Touga... Next chapter starts the Hoyga, Menomaru arc I think... Then another pup should be coming soon after that. Maybe... R&R


	15. Chapter 15

Yay timeskips woohoo! Lol anyways someone asked if Kikyo would play a part in this story and the answer is yes. It won't be for a few chapters yet but it will happen. I am also thinking about posting a sequel to this story about the female pup that hasn't been born yet! What do you guys think? ANYWAYS ON WITH THE STORY! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Angst, drama, and some other plot twists in this chapter! Multiple chapters in one!

* * *

Kagome didn't know what to think about the latest request for help that she had received. The reason being that it was at the House of Setsuna, and Touga would be going with her...and the year was 1301 meaning that Izayoi had been born. And even though she and Touga loved each other, and he made her feel more important than anything, he had loved this woman dearly in the other timeline, and she had been betrayed many times by a man that she had loved, for another woman that he loved. So to say that she was scared was an understatement.

She watched the large shiro become visible against the setting sun, and she spared her mate a look to see him watching her closely. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." He answered quickly, though his hold on her tightened. The sun reflected off of his deep golden pools highlighting the concern in them.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" She offered him a nervous smile.

"Because I know where we are going, and what awaits us there. And I want you to know that I have no interest in any other female, I never will. You are everything that I need, and want so worry not." He raised a hand to pull her closer so that he could bestow a soft kiss on her lips, smoothing a finger over her soft cheek when he pulled away. "I love you and no other."

She smiled wistfully and placed her hand over his. "Me too."

"Good." And with that he turned and began descending to the ground where a group of servants, and the Lord of the house sat waiting for them.

Her feet touched the ground and she bent into a low bow before the Lord Setsuna. "Aiji-sama I am the miko Kagome." She introduced herself to the sharp eyes of the Lord before she stood straight and met his eyes.

"Kagome-sama." He greeted monotonously. "My daughter has fallen ill and we believe a youkai is responsible. I have called you here to have you ascertain the cause of her illness, and if it is youkai, slay it."

While he was talking her eyes roved over his form. He was wearing a purple haori of high quality silk, brown hakamas, and expensive armor. His hair was black and tied at the back of his neck in a pony tail, his eyes were a dirt brown color, and his aged, yet handsome face was completely emotionless. "Ahh I understand Aiji-sama! Could you take me to the hime now?"

"Of course."

She followed after him when he turned and led the way into the shiro. Somehow things were not going to go according to plan...

* * *

For some reason he did not want to be apart from his mate at all in these walls, so he stuck close to her and mate guarded to the extreme. That meant that he followed her in to treat the hime as well, and he had to say that the hime was beautiful with her long brown hair, and soft brown eyes, but to him Kagome was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Over the years she had grown from a woman-child with childlike features, to a beautiful woman with sharp stunning features. He still only wanted her, and that would never change.

"Well it looks like it may be a curse from a kuro miko." Kagome leaned back after her examination and met Aiji-san's eyes.

"Can you dispel it from here?" The lord questioned in his dead voice.

"I could, though it would be pointless as the kuro miko could simply cast another curse from wherever they are. Our best course of action is to hunt the miko down and slay her so that the curse is broken, and she cannot cast another one."

"Well you are free to rest up here this night and go after the kuro miko in the morning. I will have the servants prepare a suitable room for your stay...What about your companion?" And with that questioned Aiji met his eyes scathingly.

"I will stay with Kagome Aiji-san. I am her protector..." And mate, but he could not just say that for fear of how the ningens would react to hearing that a miko had mated a youkai. They might try and kill her, and then he would have to kill them.

"Hn. Take them to the guest room at the end of the corridor Ko."

"Hai Aiji-sama!" One of the servants stepped forward and gestured for them to follow after her. Though as he followed the two females from the room, he could not help but to notice the appraising look the hime shot him. He snorted and stepped closer to Kagome.

* * *

Something woke him from his slumber and he instinctively turned and pulled his mate closer. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent, which promptly caused his eyes to pop open, while his nose twitched furiously to take in the scent. The sweet tang of fertility made him shudder and harden instantly. For a split second he was tempted to pin her down underneath him and fuck her brains out to impregnate her again but he resisted. He had promised to inform her when her moments of fertility came. So with herculean effort he pulled back and forced himself away from her, dulling his sense of smell to help him remain sane. It was going to be a long night...

* * *

Touga was acting odd to say the least. Though as she traversed through the brush with him right behind her that though was secondary. Finding the kuro miko was her primary concern at the moment, though her mate's strange behavior was making concentrating difficult. Though it wasn't like the kuro miko was particularly skilled at hiding her aura, and in truth she was not particularly powerful either. In no time at all she would find her and put and end to her curses once and for all. "Touga can you smell her anywhere nearby?"

"No I cannot love."

"Hmm well maybe she can hide her scent..." Though she doubted it. Something was wrong with him, and after she finished up she was going to find out what it was. At the moment however a dark ominous feeling brushed at her senses and she smirked and quickened her pace to find the one responsible. As she drew closer she brandished Azusa and notched an arrow on it before she stepped from the brush.

A young woman of maybe 17 stood straight across from her, her hair was dark brown, and her eyes were an onyx color. She wore the traditional kuro miko robes with the black billowing folds, and red beads adorning the sleeves.

"Is there a reason that you cursed the hime of Setsuna?" She bit out bowstring drawn tight, and arrow aimed straight at the other woman's heart.

The woman who had the audacity to shrug carelessly. "I do not need a personal reason to curse someone. We kuro miko work for anyone who will pay us for our services." She answered like she had been asked about something as trivial as the weather.

"Then there is no reason to feel guilt about returning the favor." She released her arrow and the bright torrent hit the other woman dead center in her heart felling her in seconds.

With her dying breath the woman smirked and cursed her. "You will know the pain of watching your beloved in the arms of another woman...and you will suffer." With that she gave one last shuddering breath and stilled forever.

"As if a kuro miko could curse me." She shook her head and turned to leave the clearing. "Are you coming Touga?"

"Yes of course." He was beside her in a second, apparently over his earlier distantness.

Later, she would ask him after they returned to their chambers that night.

* * *

Her scent was driving him mad...and the longer he stayed away the worse the drive to mate her became. And watching her sit across from him and comb her hair was not helping at all...Everytime that comb parted the strands he would get a lovely whiff of her scent blown in his direction. If she did not stop enticing him she would find herself pinned to a futon for days...

But apparently Kagome had other ideas because she put down her comb and made her way over to him. "Touga have I done something to upset you?" She asked after she had settled herself down onto her knees across from him.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Why would you think that love?"

She twiddled her fingers and looked down at the floor. "Well you haven't really talked to me today, and you've been avoiding me. Why?" Her voice broke at the end of her question, and she hesitantly met his eyes.

"You did nothing."

"Then why are you acting so strangely?" She persisted crawling closer to him on her hands and knees.

The combination of her scent, and the position had his youki elevating to monstrous heights. A thundering growl escaped from his lips freezing her in place. His blood boiled, and it took everything in him to hold back from mounting her then and there.

Though she seemed to take his reaction for anger by the way she looked down at the floor and pushed herself to her feet. "Never mind." She muttered turning and hastily making her way to the door.

The scent of sorrow broke him out of his beast induced stupor, and he saw her leaving through foggy eyes. He shot to his feet and streaked by her blocking the door before she could get to it.

"Move out of my way!" She hissed angrily.

"You misunderstand my actions love." He groaned as the scent of her anger highlighted the scent of her fertility. "You are fertile right now." He gritted out.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "Oh. So my scent had been driving you crazy all day hasn't it?"

"Yes it has." He closed his eyes and fought to control himself. Sometimes being an inu was a curse, smelling every single thing so strongly, especially your female's heat. Inuyasha was a handful as it was, and Kagome was his main caretaker so he thought that it was best to wait to have another pup after Inuyasha was more self sufficient. Kagome had even agreed with him after much reluctance, that was why he was shocked when she pressed herself against him. His eyes snapped open and met her swirling blue orbs. "Kagome?"

"You know my position on the idea of another pup." She giggled at his tense countenance. "Inuyasha would make a good big brother no?"

"Yes but..."

"No buts! Inuyasha is a big boy, and now it's time for another pup." She reasoned even as she pulled back and shrugged her garbs off.

He groaned in defeat and followed her to their borrowed bed. Tomorrow they were going back to their shiro, and pupped tonight or not she was going to be locked in their rooms for a week.

* * *

Kagome walked through the intricate halls of the lovely shiro smiling and basking in the sunlight that poured in through the open shoji. Last night had been tiring, but the thought of another pup was warming at the least. She could see Inuyasha playing with the little one, a little girl if she got her wish. And she could see Touga fawning over his little hime, as she was sure that he would. In fact she wanted to get back home and try some more just to make sure that she was pupped, all she had to do was find her mate first. Which was proving difficult to do when she didn't know the layout of the shiro at all. Maybe she should ask?

"Excuse me?" She stopped one of the servants bustling down the halls. "Do you know where my companion is?"

The girl nodded and pointed down the hall. "He was with Izayoi-sama in her sitting room." And with that she continued on her way without a care.

But the same could not be said for her, her blood was running cold in her veins. And with careful measured steps she traversed down the corridor towards where she could now feel his aura from. She masked her scent as she approached and pressed herself against the wall before peering around it, and what she saw made her heart stop.

He was sitting with her and she was obviously trying to be coy with him, and he was making no attempt to stop her at all. In fact he was letting the beautiful hime run her hands over his arms, and even his crests as she pressed herself against his side. Hurt shot through her heart like a lance and she steeled herself against the pain and turned away from him. How could he let another woman touch him like that? Izayoi no less? The one who had been his wife in the other timeline! Did he regret not waiting to meet her now? He certainly looked at home with the hime... It was just like Inuyasha, and Kikyo all over again except this time the hurt was much worse. So much worse in fact that she had no reason to stay and wait for him! In fact she didn't want to see him ever again if she could help it!

She reached her rooms in record time and gathered her belongings, along with a small beaded bracelet that closely resembled Inuyasha's kotodama. The beads were reiki beads capable of channeling her power into them, and that is exactly what she did. Her power flowed freely into the small bracelet and she focused on a powerful concealment spell, one that would even bypass Tetsusaiga's ability to sense her. And once she had that done she slipped it on and grabbed an inkwell and a small blank scroll, hastily scribbling a message onto it.

"Touga,

I trust too freely it seems, for once again I have been betrayed by the man that I love. I will not play games with you and the Hime! If you want her take her and leave me be! The only time you will see me from now on is when I desire to see Inuyasha! Know that I still love you, though it is a broken love...Take good care of Inuyasha while I am gone.

Kagome."

She slid it onto the tansu near Tetsusaiga and hurriedly turned to make her escape. If she was pregnant she would come back to the shiro at some point, Touga deserved to meet all of his pups after all. So she would be seeing him again, though nothing would ever be the same. The kuro miko's words rang in her ear: "You will know the pain of watching your beloved in the arms of another woman...and you will suffer." Well suffer she would...

* * *

He finally managed to pry the Hime off of his person so that he could go and find his mate. He was more than ready to go home and ensure that she was carrying, though inus had a nearly full proof chance of impregnating any fertile female on the first coupling. She most likely already was carrying, and that meant that he would need to get her home before her reiki exhausted her. Imagine his surprise however when he arrived back at their room and she was nowhere to be seen. Even her belongings were gone, her armor, her weapons, her food stores. "What is the meaning of this?" Her scent was not even coating the room and it had been when he had left... And then his eyes landed on the scroll where he could make out Kagome's neat kanji, and he picked it up his eyes roving over the contents. His stomach dropped to his feet along with the scroll. She had seen him conversing with the hime, and though he had known that it was nothing intimate, some of the hime's actions might have given the impression of intimacy... She thought that he had betrayed her, and she had taken off.

In a second he had Tetsusaiga in his hands in an attempt to locate her aura, to feel some sort of pull towards her...But there was nothing. She had blocked her aura from him somehow. A thundering roar escaped his lips and bounced off of the walls of the shiro. He would find her and never let her go again.

* * *

"Oof! Watch it Tsukiko! That hurts mommy!" Kagome admonished gently as the little one kicked her rather viciously. She patted her stomach affectionately and leaned back against a tree to rest. almost six months had passed since she had fled Aiji-sama's shiro, and it had become strikingly apparent in days that she was in fact carrying another pup. That had made her life more difficult not that she minded. This pregnancy was difficult, but the little one seemed to thrive off of her miko ki, instead of fighting it as Inuyasha had. She could tell that the little one would be special.

"Ah Kagome-san what are you doing out here?" One of the village women known as Kasumi admonished her as she approached.

"Oh I just had cabin fever..." And she had gotten sick of her small hut...So she had decided to take a small walk, which had proved to be more difficult for her than she had expected. "I wanted some fresh air."

"I see...Well you should be careful! You are due to give birth next month yes?" Kasumi giggled and patted her swollen stomach affectionately.

The pup responded with a swift kick against the offending hand. "Ooh she's going to be so strong..." She cooed patting her belly again.

"Seems like it." Kasumi agreed before she pulled back. "Are you going to come over for dinner tonight? Koji wanted to see you again."

"Hmm If I feel up for it I will be there. It depends on the little one and her temper." She giggled as her stomach was once more assaulted by another kick. "Sorry baby..." She cooed to settle her down.

"Well if you want I could bring you some food over after we're done. And I can bring Koji as well if you would like." Kasumi persisted good naturedly.

"If you would like."

"I would. Though I do need to be getting back soon so I will see you later in the day." With that Kasumi stood and made her way towards one of the huts at the edge of the village.

And she was left alone again...well not exactly. She stood and waddled towards the hut that the villagers had let her inhabit. It was small but clean, and it was more than suitable for her needs. Though when she delivered she would not be able to stay here anymore, in fact she had prepared a small cave some ways from here for the delivery. It would not be safe for Tsukiko to be born here...

She missed Touga, and her koinu...

* * *

How was it that he was unable to find her? He had searched all over Japan himself, had his best scouts search every ningen settlement he could think of. Yet he still had not found her...and Inuyasha was beside himself with worry as well. The pup barely even came out of his room anymore, and he wanted to curse at his own stupidity. Yet he could not blame her for her hurt, he would not have reacted so nicely if it was him. If he had seen her being affectionate with another male he would have torn him apart in a second... When he found her he was going to explain himself to her, and he was going to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again.

A knock at the shoji alerted him to Taka's presence and he straightened himself up to an acceptable level. "Enter."

The door slid open to reveal his most trusted scout. Taka was a bird youkai which meant that he was perfect for retrieval missions, with his sharp eyesight, and ability to move at great speeds. "Touga-sama Ryuukotsusei is on the move again."

That was not the information that he wanted..."Oh? And what of my missing mate? Did you abandon your search for her at the first sign of Ryuukotsusei?"

Taka did not even waver in the least. "No I did not. I have found her as well in the village that Ryuukotsusei was last seen heading towards."

The implications hung in the air for a moment before he was moving. "Assemble a group of elite guards and have them meet me at the ningen village!"

"Hai!"

He did not even wait to see if Taka had done as he ordered, no he knew where she was after so long...He had to get to her!

* * *

She was sleeping peacefully, dreams of Inuyasha, and Touga running through her mind. Of what might have been had he not betrayed her...But a massive youki aura startled her instantly into consciousness. She shot up from her futon and scrambled for her bow and quiver, though her reiki was still a great deal weaker than it was when she was not pupped.

Shouts sounded out from the villagers who had felt the massive aura as well, as they scrambled from their huts weapons in hand.

She followed with an arrow notched on Azusa and pointed at the sky where she could feel the familiar, and terrible aura. What the hell was Ryuukotsusei doing here? But she didn't have time to ponder it as his ningen form shot down to the ground in a shower of bright red youki, that landed right in front of her.

"I heard about the inu's betrayal of your mating bond." Ryuukotsusei sneered down at her swollen belly. "Yet you carry his young regardless...Did you not satisfy him enough?"

"Why don't you ask him? All I know is that he was being more than friendly with a ningen Hime. That's the end of my part in this mess." Her grip on her bowstring did not waver from where she had it aimed at his heart.

"You could have purified his seed little miko... Why did you not do so?" Ryuukotsusei persisted while his hand reached forward towards her.

"Back off!" She demanded reiki flowing into her arrow warningly. "My reasons are my reasons! Now I suggest that you leave before I purify you!" A hollow threat she knew it. She did not have the power to destroy him at this time. Though at the first brushes of an even more familiar youki against hers she didn't know if she would even have to. "Shitshitshitshitshit! Not him! Not now!" She cursed torn between fleeing, and standing her ground.

It was more than apparent that fleeing was not an option when another light orb shot down from the sky forming a triangle between the three of them. The light faded and revealed Touga in all of his glory, his eyes intensely trained on her swollen abdomen. "Drop your weapon and move to safety love."

"Don't call me love! You're a cheating bastard!" She hissed though she did back up to a more suitable distance.

"Kagome now is not the time for arguments! Just do as I say!" He growled both at her, and at Ryuukotsusei when he moved towards her. "Keep your distance from her Dragon. Kagome move away from him!"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She shot back glaring at him heatedly. How had this happened when she had been so careful? Her tracks had been thoroughly covered yet he had still found her, though as Ryuukotsusei stared her down lustfully she surmised that it was a good thing that he had shown up.

"You betray the mate bond and still have the audacity to order her around? Pathetic even for you dog." Ryuukotsusei sneered disdainfully before he once again tried to move towards Kagome. "I would never betray such a bond miko. All we have to do is rid your person of that spawn" He spat the world in disgust. "and then I can impregnate you with my hatchlings instead."

The threat against the pup incited her mate's temper, and protective instincts, and with a snarl he drew Tetsusaiga and lunged for Ryuukotsusei. The Kaze no Kizu swirled wildly around the blade in his anger as he moved to release it.

"TOUGA STOP! WHAT ABOUT THE VILLAGERS?!" She shouted even as she erected a barrier around the village, grunting with the effort that it took. A massive pink barrier shot up around the village protecting it from her wild mate.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" He brought Tetsusaiga down in a wide arc and released the wind scar towards Ryuukotsusei.

The Dragon's eyes bled red as the attack drew closer to him, his crest elongated and his youki swirled wildly around him. His whole demeanor screamed dangerous though he seemed to deem it unnecessary to fight for he once again took off into the sky with several parting words. "Well little miko I guess we will have to save this for another day...Sometime soon." And then he was gone, the Kaze no Kizu tearing through the space where he had been.

Debris splintered and hit the barrier though it held strong until the area settled, though she still held it up. She was taking absolutely no chances of him snatching her after everything that he had done. So when he appeared in front of her barrier and demanded that she drop it she lifted her chin defiantly and strengthened the barrier instead. "No."

"Kagome I will not tell you to drop this barrier again! You are going to harm the pup from using this much reiki!" He growled pounding on the barrier experimentally only to have his hands singed.

"No she will not be harmed from my use of my power. In fact she feeds off of it."

"Kagome..." He growled warningly. "Do not make me bypass this barrier to get to you! You can drop it of your own volition, or I can come through it."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" She smirked condescendingly, though it was wiped clean off her face when he drew Tetsusaiga and pressed it against the barrier. Her breath left her lungs in a whoosh when the blade sapped her power, and in turn absorbed her barrier. She stumbled forward and fell to her knees gasping for air. "You bastard!" When his hands came down to help her she slapped them away. "No! Keep your hands off of me you bastard!"

"Kagome-!"

"No! I saw you with her! How could you even let her touch you like that?!" Her heart throbbed erratically and against her will tears filled her eyes. "I've turned every male that's shown interest in me away! And yet you let another woman put her fucking hands all over you!"

Touga sighed and moved to pick her up against her protests. "I was going to bid Aiji-san goodbye when I ran into the Hime. Apparently she had a fascination with youkai, and she wanted to see one up close. So few ningens are like that, that I could not refuse."

"Oh? And that makes it okay for her to press herself all over you?" She shot back heatedly. "Put me down! I don't ever want to see you again! The only reason you will ever see me is because of Inuyasha, or Tsukiko!"

"No you are coming back with me now. No arguments." He added when she opened her mouth to spew some other venomous words. While she was busy arguing with him he bent to retrieve her bow and slung it onto his back, fighting against her struggles the whole way. "Enough! You will harm the pup!" He admonished gently.

"No you will! Let me go right this second!" She was tempted to purify him at this point, though with all of the power she had wasted earlier it would be harmful to the pup. Especially since she seemed to feed off of it to nurture her own power. So she went limp in his arms, defeat coursing through her. "I hate you..."

"No you do not." He answered her simply before taking to the air.

* * *

"Mother!" Inuyasha cried when he sat Kagome down in the courtyard, in a second the pup had crossed the space and latched onto her waist. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too koinu." Kagome cooed patting his hair, and ears. "Have you been a good boy while I was gone?"

"Yeah I was! Though I'm mad at you for leaving me for so long Mother! You'd better have a good explanation for this!" Inuyasha huffed with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes that is what I would like to know as well." His Mother mused as she too came out into the courtyard.

"Well then you can ask him." Kagome answered curtly before brushing by everyone into the shiro.

They all watched her go before his Mother turned back to him expectantly. "Well? What did you do to cause her so much hurt?"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "When we were going to leave Aiji-san's estate I was approached by the Hime that we had gone there to save, and she wanted to see a youkai up close."

"Well why would Kagome be angry about that?"

"Well I let the Hime touch my crests, and my muscles. Apparently Kagome saw it, and she misconstrued the situation entirely."

His Mother scowled at him and shook her head at him. "Oh? You think so? Crests are only to be touched by mates, or pack mates. No other female should be allowed the privilege of touching you like that, it is intimate contact even if you did not see it as such."

"I know...But I really did not mean it in such a manner. I just never meet ningens who are so open to youkai, it surprised me. I did not mean to upset her, or cause her heartache."

"I know that you did not koinu, but you must understand how she feels."

"Father you better make Mother feel better or else!" Inuyasha threatened flexing his little claws menacingly. "Oh? And what are you going to do son?" He chuckled at the threat.

"I'll Iron Reaver Soul Stealer your ass!" Inuyasha growled swiping his claws for show.

"Language Inuyasha!" He and Masami chorused simultaneously.

"Yeah yeah! Just go and apologize to Mother already so that she and the pup aren't sad anymore!" He waved them off dismissively.

Instead of commenting on his son's attitude he went to see to his mate. The scent of her anger, and sorrow permeated all throughout the shiro as he traversed the halls, and he felt like shit for making her feel this way. But he could not help the past, he could only fix the future. When he got to the sitting room he steeled himself to face her again and entered the room. She was sitting on a cushion with Kirara in her lap, the little neko was obviously happy to see her Mistress again. "Kagome could we talk?"

"No." She answered curtly.

"Please I would like to explain what happened exactly." He persisted coming to sit near her despite her hostile demeanor. Once he was comfortable he turned to her fully and watched her countenance before speaking. "I did not mean to upset you that day love, the Hime merely wanted to see a youkai up close. She was fascinated and so few ningens are willing to even take an interest in youkai, that I could not refuse her. Just know that for me the contact was not intimate, I simply wanted to sate her curiosity nothing more. I love you and I will never want another woman in this existence, or the next. In fact I have not seen the Hime since that day, I was to worried about you to care for some woman that I hold no feelings for."

"It wasn't just any woman! Izayoi was your wife in the other timeline!"

"And? She is nothing to me in this time. I already have a mate, and I love her very dearly. There will never be another for me I promise you."

Something he said must have clicked somewhere because she slowly lowered Kirara to the floor before she turned to face him, her eyes meeting his squarely. She searched his eyes for several intense moments before she nodded. "Ok but if you ever do that again..."

"I will not I promise you." The urge to hold her was strong and he held out his arms to beckon her to him, waiting on bated breath for her to come to him. She did so hesitantly sliding her small body into the space of his arms. He wrapped them around her sighing in relief when the hurt that he had felt in her absence was instantly soothed. "I missed you love."

"I missed you too...jerk." She tightened her arms around him and pressed her body even closer.

Which gave him a nice feel for how very pregnant she was, which in all of the chaos he had been too frantic to pay much attention to anything but getting her home. He pulled back from her and looked down at the swell of her abdomen that contained their pup. "Has this pregnancy been easier?"

"Hmm yes and no. She's a lot more active that Inuyasha, and she feeds off of my reiki instead of fighting it. That means that I can use my power, but it also means that whenever I use it she tries to pull it back to her. It's tiring to say the least, though I think that she may inherit some of my abilities. It would make sense I think."

"A hanyou with reiki..." He mused thoughtfully while his hand came down to rest on the swell of her abdomen. A series of kicks was the response to his ministration. "Are you sure that it is a girl?"

"Feel her aura."

So he did and it had a distinct feminine feel to it. "Yes definitely a female." He agreed ecstatic at the prospect. He had always wanted a daughter, and now it seemed that the gods had granted his request and gave him one. Now all he had to do was endure the next month of pregnant Kagome so that he could meet the little one. Easy right?

* * *

Turns out that it was anything but easy. Kagome was mean, irritable, sad, and just generally pissed off with the world. That meant that he had to deal with chasing her all over the shiro, while she screamed and carried on about her feet, and her back, and the food that she was given. It was a pain to say the least. Though he loved her even more for it on some days, it really made her unique. Though today was not one of those days.

"Kagome love you need to eat."

"I DON'T WANT IT!" She screamed shrilly and pushed the offered food away from her. "I'M NOT HUNGRY!"

He growled and pushed the tray back to her. "Eat."

She pushed it away and glared at him. "NO."

He caught the tray and held it in front of her with ease. "Kagome the pup needs nourishment."

"Then tell her that because she's making me feel sick as hell!" She spat tears springing to her eyes.

"Language Kagome! Now at least try and eat some of this!"

"NO! Why don't you understand that I don't feel good?! My stomach feels like it's going to force everything back up!" Her head fell into her hands and she proceeded to cry.

At that moment Inuyasha peeked his head around the corner stealthily, or at least what he thought was stealthy. "Father why is Mother crying? Does being pregnant hurt?"

"No she just feels a little under the weather today Inuyasha." He answered him while he rubbed Kagome's back soothingly. "Why don't you go and play with Kirara for now?"

"Okay but if Mother gets bad come and find me so I can make her feel better." And with that Inuyasha was gone, his robes billowing out behind him as he shot back around the corner.

With Inuyasha out of the way he turned back to Kagome and pulled her up into his lap. "Relax love...You are working yourself up and that is not helping you feel better."

"I can't help it!" She cried miserably. "I hate you!"

"No you do not."

"Yes I do! You did this to me again!"

"You wanted another pup as did I, this was a joint decision."

"Noo it wasn't! I want her to be born now so that I can eat!"

Instead of commenting that she was being unreasonable, not to mention obtuse, he focused on the fact that this was a particularly difficult part of the pregnancy for her. Hell he had found her asleep on her feet earlier! And after he had woken her up she had promptly taken two steps and fell back asleep on her feet. Needless to say she was not getting anywhere on her own, so he had to carry her. Which made the pup more active for some reason, which made her kick Kagome more, which made Kagome angry... Thank gods that he only had to endure for a little while longer...

"My back hurts..." She moaned pitifully.

"Would you like to take a hot bath?" He suggested knowing that she would jump at the chance.

"Nooo..." She whined surprisingly.

"No? You do not want a bath?" He repeated just to make sure that he had heard her right.

"No!" She snapped irritably.

Something was definitely not right if she was turning away a hot bath. Perhaps he should have the new mid-wife take a look at her? Yes that sounded like a good idea. "Chikako?"

The tora moved into the room from where she had taken up station next to the wall outside of the door. "Hai Touga-sama?"

"Get Sayuri-san and bring her to our rooms. Tell her that Kagome is in quite a bit of discomfort."

"Hai Touga-sama!"

He stood and swept out of the room with Kagome clutched tightly to his chest. It was too early for her to be giving birth, so something else must be wrong with her.

* * *

Sayuri was quick to respond to his summons, though as she poked, and prodded at Kagome's nether regions it seemed to pain her. Which had him on edge, which made Kagome nervous in turn. Though Sayuri moved quickly and finished up with as little contact as possible.

"Well what is wrong with her?"

"She is in the beginning stages of labor." Sayuri answered as she washed her hands in a basin set aside for her.

"But she is early." He muttered distractedly. A strong pressure on his hand drew his attention away from their mid-wife, and down to his mate. She looked scared, her knuckles completely white where she had clenched his hand in a death grip. "It will be okay Kagome. The pup is close enough to full term to be born healthy. A few weeks should not make a difference."

"Touga-sama is right Kagome-sama. Many ningen babies are born a month, sometimes even more and they survive. A hanyou pup is stronger so she should be just fine."

"Okay... So what do I do until my water breaks?"

"Well I would suggest that you rest, and walk when you are able." Sayuri suggested flicking a lock of her dark hair over her shoulder. "Touga-sama should stay with you in case you become too pained to move."

"Of course I will stay with her. Inu males never leave their mate during labor."

"Well rest and find me when the time comes." And with that Sayuri stood and made her way out of the shoji door.

So now all they had to do was wait...

* * *

Sweat pooled at her brow as pain shot through her back, and into her stomach. Gods did it hurt! She panted and moved to get onto her hands and knees to alleviate the pain, Touga helping her steady herself when she swayed and nearly collapsed. She rocked back and forth gritting her teeth against the pain. "Why hasn't my water broke yet?" She whined in an agonized tone.

"These things take time love."

"Well there's such a thing as too much time! You try being in this position and tell me how you feel!" She snapped irritated at his nonchalant attitude. A tight agonizing stab of pain shooting through her back made her cry out. "Bastard! Why didn't I learn my lesson the first time I went through this?"

"Perhaps walking would help?" He suggested helpfully.

"Oh? Does it look like I can walk?" She snapped viciously.

"I can help you." He moved to help her up onto her feet.

As soon as he did that she felt a gush of warm wetness pour out of her center, and she sighed in relief despite herself. "I guess I don't need to walk..."

"No I suppose not." He settled her back down and called for Chikako to fetch Sayuri. Now came the hardest part...pushing the pup out.

* * *

"NO MORE PUPS EVER! IF I EVER ASK FOR ANOTHER ONE TELL ME NO GODDAMNIT!"

"Of course love." Though he knew that she would change her mind quick after the pup was actually born. This delivery had progressed faster than Inuyasha's had, with Kagome pushing the head of the pup out in record time. Though it did nothing to stem the venom from her mouth.

"WHY DIDN'T I MAKE THAT FUCKING SPELL LIKE I SAID I WAS GOING TO IN THE FIRST PLACE? YOU DESERVE TO FEEL THE PAIN! YOU DID THIS TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"No we did it together."

"NO YOU DID IT! I FEEL LIKE I'M SPLITTING IN HALF FROM MY VAGINA UP YOU BASTARD!" She hissed venomously.

"Next time you can." He placated her though it did no good.

"THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE A NEXT TIME! TWO IS ENOUGH!"

"You say that now love, but you will change your mind later."

"NO I WON'T!"

"I hate to break up the fight between you two, but this pup is not going to deliver itself..."

Both of their heads shot around towards Sayuri's exasperated face. "Sorry." They muttered simultaneously. Well with Kagome it was more like she yelled it at the poor woman with an attitude.

She waved it off and settled herself back down between Kagome's legs. "On the next contraction give me a big push okay? That should do it."

"Okay..." Kagome muttered while she concentrated on taking deep breaths to help with the pain.

He could tell when the next contraction hit because her muscles clenched like a vice, and she squeezed his hand so tight that her knuckles cracked. All at once she leaned forward and gave a massive push, her body quivering under the strain. She cried out one last time and fell back against the futon in exhaustion.

A soft cry broke the silence from the pup. "It's a girl." Sayuri hurriedly moved to clean up the pup before she wrapped her in a blanket and handed her to her mother.

Silver eyes stared up at her with wonder, while her silver ears twitched to catch all of the sounds. She was tiny compared to Inuyasha when he was born, though there were other subtle differences in her appearance. Her hair was a deeper silver than Inuyasha, or even Touga, and she was more petite looking than her brother. A trait that she had obviously inherited from her Mother.

"Tsukiko I'm your mommy." She cooed in a gentle voice.

"She is beautiful Kagome." Touga moved to get a better look at the pup which caught the little one's attention.

Tsukiko's eyes swung over to her Father, and back to her, before she surprised the both of them by smiling at them, and giggling.

"She's precious..."

"That she is. May I hold her?"

"Of course you are her Father after all!" She handed Tsukiko over to him ignoring the pang of loneliness she felt at being separated from her newborn. But it was worth it to see Touga holding her, and looking at her as if she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Yup Tsukiko was going to be a daddy's girl if he had any say at all. Though she figured that Inuyasha, and his Father would be having it out over the girl's attention at some point...

As soon as the thought crossed her mind a knock sounded against the shoji door and Inuyasha called out to them. "Mother are you okay now?"

"Yes koinu come in and meet your new sister."

That got him moving quick and in a second he was next to his Father staring down at his new sister in wonder. "She's so tiny...What if she gets broken?"

She giggled and held out her hands for the pup, who Touga reluctantly handed over. "That just means that you will have to be her fearless protector huh?"

"Yeah! I'll be her fierce protector! No boys will ever come near her ever!" Inuyasha declared puffing out his chest to make himself seem bigger.

"I agree with the boy part of that..." Touga growled threateningly.

Tsukiko started to fuss for a feeding effectively distracting the two males from their death plans for any male who looked Tsukiko's way.

"Mother she's crying do something!" Inuyasha panicked.

"She's just hungry koinu calm down." She placated him. "Go on out so that I can feed her okay? Then you can come back later and see her."

"Awww mooom! I don't wanna go away yet! Tsukiko might forget about me before I get back!" Inuyasha protested panting his feet and refusing to move. "I'm a big boy so I can see stuff like this!"

Well if he wanted to be difficult..."Ok but don't say I didn't warn you!" With that she shrugged her kimono to the side and lifted Tsukiko up to her breast to eat.

And of course Inuyasha gagged and looked at her wide eyed before asking. "Is that how you fed me?"

"Yes as a matter of fact it was."

"Ewww! I sucked on mother's boobs!" He gagged before making a hasty escape. "Tell Tsuki I'll be back later!" And with that he was gone.

"Well I didn't think that he would react like that." She giggled keeping eye contact with Tsukiko while she nursed.

"I did when my Mother informed me of breast feeding...Though a young pup who is not of breeding age would react like that, so Inuyasha's reaction was expected." Touga muttered distractedly before the room fell into silence. All that could be heard were the little suckling sound that Tsukiko made while she nursed. Though Touga quickly broke the silence by muttering. "No boys ever...I mean it."

She wanted to facepalm into the floor at his obtuseness. "Whatever you say." She placated him, knowing that when Tsukiko was of age she was going to give daddy a hell of a time...If she was anything like her Mother of course.

* * *

I know a long chapter and a lot of stuff going on! I combined several chapters into this one chapter so hopefully you guys can all keep up! Anyways R&R!


	16. Chapter 16

Ha so fillers are so fun but I seriously need to get to the main parts of this story! But it pains me because I love writing those little scenes in. Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Oh and who wanted a sequel about Tsukiko? Let me know in your reviews!

* * *

Tsukiko's little face was a bright shade of red highlighted by the keening wails escaping from her mouth. Her little blue eyes stared up at her Mother in fright. It was her ningen night, and no hanyou baby ever took well to their first ningen night. It was scary because they could not smell or sense their parent at all, so it was almost like they weren't even there. Inuyasha had been the same way, though his emotions were not nearly as rich as his sister's were. Every cry was setting Touga more and more on edge...he hated seeing his pups distressed, his little Hime especially. She had actually had to send him out of the room because his emotions were upsetting Tsukiko even more.

"Tsukiko mommy's here..." She cooed rocking her small baby back and forth in her arms while she hummed a lullaby to her that her Mother had used for her, and Souta. "If only we had binkies...that would make you feel better."

Teary blue eyes opened wider as her cries died down slightly into hiccups. Tsukiko stared up at her and held her hands out to grab at the long strands of raven hair that fell around her before tugging on them and giggling.

"Maybe hair is better than binkies..." She mused while she sat down and took some of her hair in her hand, before she started tickling Tsukiko's face with it.

At that moment Touga peeked back into the room and quickly moved inside. "Is she well now?" He asked in concern as he settled down right next to her. A smile came to his face at the pleased gurgles coming out of his daughter's mouth. "I will take that as a yes."

"I should have expected it from her I guess, she is just like me after all. I used to play with my mama's hair all of the time as a baby." Thinking about her mama sent a wave of pain through her heart even after all of this time. Maybe the pain would never completely heal, but her family certainly made her feel happy. Even her mate who was still somewhat in the doghouse over his actions in the house of Setsuna. Sure she had forgiven him, not forgotten about it altogether. "Why do hanyou suffer from these transformations? I mean I thought it was because their ningen blood was too weak to combat the youkai blood."

"No that is not why. A body needs balance between power that is why hanyou suffer from these transformations. And for inu hanyou it is determined by the moon cycle, on the night of the new moon an inu youkai's power is at its' weakest, that means that the ningen blood manifests on this night. Likewise on the night of the full moon our power is at its' strongest. That is why this is known as the House of the Moon." He answered her before he snatched Tsukiko from her hands.

"So where's Inuyasha? Usually he doesn't want to be alone on this night."

"I believe that he was with my Mother." He answered distractedly while he started up a rumbling growl to sooth his little pup. But of course she had no intention of sleeping, or calming down. No she reached up to where his pony tail had fallen over his shoulder and tugged on it. Which in turn made him make a strange face, and that made her erupt into a fit of giggles.

She was so intent on watching the two of them that she was startled by a knock on the shoji. "Come in."

The door slid open to reveal Inuyasha in his ningen form which consisted of the same long raven hair that she had, and her mama's dark brown eyes. "Mother can I stay with you tonight?" He muttered shyly.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed koinu, your ningen night is very scary for you and I know it. Of course you can stay with papa, and I."

"Yes Inuyasha you may come on in and settle down for bed. It is late." Touga mused beckoning Inuyasha towards the futon in the center of the room near where they were sitting.

Of course he shot straight towards her and latched onto her with a vengeance. "I hate being ningen mama..." He moaned pitifully into her shoulder. "I can't smell you, or hear you at all!"

"I know koinu but it will be all over in the morning." She placated him while she ran her hands through his hair soothingly. Though Tsukiko's cries broke her out of her task and she looked over at her youngest. "She's hungry. Here take Inuyasha and put him to bed."

"Ok and what are you going to do?" Her mate responded handing her their pup, and moving to pull Inuyasha into his arms to soothe him.

"I'm going onto the walkway outside to feed her." She answered simply cradling Tsukiko to her chest as she moved out the door. She settled down just outside the shoji, instinctively knowing that if she went any farther Touga would not take well to it at all. She was still recovering from the childbirth after all, and though her reiki had been restored she was still not at full health. So she played it safe and stayed close. Once she was seated comfortably she moved her kimono to the side and brought Tsukiko up to her breast to nurse. While she was involved with her task she thought back to her continued encounters with Ryuukotsusei. What he wanted from her made her shudder in disgust, and she knew that sooner rather than later she and Touga would have to finish him off. The continued threat that he posed to her pups was not acceptable, nor was the fact that he wanted her to bear his hatchlings... She shuddered in disgust and quickly finished nursing Tsukiko so that she could get back inside. Somehow she just didn't feel safe knowing that he was running loose. Hurriedly shrugging her kimono back on she jumped to her feet and made her way back to her room and the sight that met her eyes when she returned pushed all of the worry away momentarily. Inuyasha was sprawled out across Touga's chest completely passed out, and Touga was purring for him to soothe him. "Awww so cute... Such a good papa." She cooed softly, giggling when Tsukiko giggled at her.

"Get over here so that we can go to sleep love, and bring my little hime with you." He pinned her with a expectant look and held out a hand to her.

She went to him and settled down into the crook of his arm, settling Tsukiko so that she was pressed up against his side while his arm came around to wrap around her back. Once they were all comfortable he pulled the covers up over them and they all fell asleep quickly.

* * *

"Touga could we talk about something important?"

He turned away from where he was watching Inuyasha holding Tsukiko in the gardens to his mate. "Of course what do you wish to speak about?" He sat down on the veranda and gestured for her to sit next to him. Once she did he waited patiently for her to get whatever had been bothering her since the night before off of her chest.

"I think that Ryuukotsusei needs to be dealt with soon."

Well he had definitely not been expecting that at all though it made sense that she would want the Dragon dead. He did want to impregnate her with his hatchlings after all...He shuddered in disgust at the thought. "Yes I agree though perhaps now is not the best time."

"I disagree with that." Her eyes were trained intently on something in the yard.

He followed her gaze and it landed on Tsukiko who was giggling at her brother. Why would she be looking at their hime like that? "Love what are you not telling me?"

"Think about it Touga...he wants me because I have an immense amount of reiki that would ensure that his offspring would at least boast a resistance to it. And Tsukiko fed off of my reiki while I was pregnant with her...And while I have recovered the full brunt of my power, I believe that her exposure to it will result in her having reiki powers comparable to mine. Think about it...a hanyou with reiki power. She would make powerful offspring for any male youkai that could get his hands on her, and they would be full youkai due to the fact that she would pass on her youkai blood instead of her ningen blood."

"So you are worried that he will turn his attentions to Tsukiko if he cannot get you?" He surmised getting more and more livid by the second. If that Dragon ever even attempted to get near his little Hime he would tear his head off and shove it up his ass... "Perhaps a preemptive strike is in order. Though we are not sure if she does in fact possess reiki power, or simply a superior resistance to it. I suppose we will find that out in due time." Though the dragon would not be alive to see the day when it did come. A meeting with his war council was definitely in order...

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure that she will possess immense power, so much so that the only miko that could purify her would be me. No other miko would ever be able to harm her. So the problem with Ryuukotsusei needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. As soon as I am fit to travel again I will join you and together we will kill him."

"What about Tsukiko, and Inuyasha? Are you willing to risk your life to kill the dragon, and in doing so leave them behind?"

"Are you?" She shot back never turning to gaze towards him.

Of course he was more than willing to risk his life to protect his pups, but that was his duty as the Alpha male. It was not her duty as the alpha female to risk her life to defend them when he was able, that would only be left for her should he die. But he should have guessed that she would not even waver at facing danger of such a magnitude. "Fine but I want you to keep back to a safe distance and use your bow only. I do not want you getting close to the dragon is that understood?"

"Touga would you like to see something interesting?" She cut in diverting him away from the conversation.

"Love do not-" He started but stopped mid sentence when she stood and retrieved her bow, and quiver before beckoning him to follow her.

"Kirara watch after the pups until we get back." She ordered the neko softly before she stalked off towards the forest.

He followed her unsure of what she had to show him that made her think that he would change his mind.

* * *

It was amazing how many things that she had forgotten since she first came further back into the past all those years ago. As she came to a stop in front of a deserted stretch of forest she pulled Azusa from her shoulder and swiftly notched an arrow on it though she did not release it.

"Love what are you doing?" Touga asked in confusion while he eyed her with scrutinizing eyes.

"Draw Tetsusaiga." She ordered in a stern tone.

"Why?"

"Just draw Tetsusaiga and release the Kaze no kizu." She ordered again trying to keep her patience with his inability to follow basic instructions.

"You want me to release the Kaze no Kizu on a bunch of trees?" He queried even as he drew Tetsusaiga and built his youki up around the blade.

"Just do it!"

"Fine." And muttering about stubborn women and their need to destroy trees he released the technique.

A split second before the attack left his blade she fired her arrow directly in its' path, and when the youki based attack caught up to her arrow a blinding light shot out from the attack as the two forces combined, and strengthened one another. It tore through the forest easily three times as strong as it normally was, and before the attack even died down she turned a smug smile on her stunned mate. "Now do you see what I was talking about?" She stated smugly once the winds had died down.

All he could do was stare at her for several seconds his jaw nearly hanging off of its' hinges before he spoke. "You knew about that all along and did not tell me?" He accused good naturedly.

"Well in the initial shock and despair of being trapped in yet another time, I had completely forgotten about it. In fact I wasn't sure it would work because you are full blooded youkai, and when I used the attack before it was with Inuyasha who was a hanyou. I figured that maybe his ningen blood allowed our attacks to combine together, so I honestly overlooked ever trying it with you. I'm glad that I decided to give it a try thoug because we can also use this with the Bakuryuha..." She trailed off letting the implications hang in the air for several seconds. In a second she found herself enveloped in a tight embrace.

"You my love are a genius! How did I ever get so lucky as to find you?" He purred into her hair affectionately.

"You lucked out that's for sure..." She agreed as she kissed his neck. It was too bad that she was not yet clear for sex...or she would have him tied up with reiki restraints while she dominated him!

"Bad girl..." A short rumbling growl coursed through his chest and he held her closer to him. "You should know what that scent does to me..."

"You should know what your body pressed against mine does to me." She shot back disentangling herself from him to retrieve Azusa from where she had dropped it when he had practically attacked her. "We should head back though before Inuyasha gets into trouble. You know how he gets sometimes." As she moved to saunter by him she stopped right in front of him and leaned up on her tippy toes to press her lips against his softly. Though she didn't let the contact go any further than a chaste press of her lips against his. Pulling back she smirked up at his off put expression. "I shouldn't work myself up when I can't satisfy myself you know... Maybe next time." And with that she turned and sauntered away swaying her hips teasingly, and relishing in the heated growl that bounced off of the trees. Gods teasing him was so fun. Though later she probably would not think so after she lost the ability to walk because of him.

* * *

It had been decided that as soon as she was fit again they would go after Ryuukotsusei, and that meant that she had to not only recover completely from giving birth, she had to get back into optimum shape which is what she was doing now, with Chikako's help. They were running through the forest trying to help her get her stamina back, not that it had truly taken much of a blow when she was pregnant, she was always active after all. Still Touga would not allow her to go if he didn't deem her completely fit. So her days consisted of a schedule that went like this. Get up and feed Tsukiko: Get dressed and eat: Feed Tsukiko again then meet up with either Chikako, Touga, or Masami: Go for a run in the forest, and by run she meant a freaking marathon: Go back in and feed Tsukiko again: Scold Inuyasha for some prank or another: Go back out into the yard and meet Touga for sword practice: Go back in and feed Tsukiko again: GO back outside and work on archery, and meditation: Go for another run in the forest, again a freaking marathon: Go back in for dinner, hers, and Tsukiko's: Bathe and get dressed for bed: Scold Inuyasha for yet another prank: And finally collapse into bed to sleep, after feeding Tsukiko again of course. It was tiring to say the least...Not the actual training, she wasn't in that bad of shape, she was just burning off excess fat from the pregnancy. Which in truth was already gone, but her lack of actual physical training had taken a slight toll on her as it would any woman. So she was doomed to this training regiment...At least she could see the shiro coming into view again...that meant that it was almost feeding time for Tsukiko again.

"You really bounced back after this delivery Kagome-chan! Touga will be pleased!" Chikako complimented as she appeared beside her in a flash of bright red hair.

She huffed and glared at the tora who had not a hair out of place, while she herself was panting, and probably had hair sticking up in impossible ways. "Stupid youkai and their inhuman endurance..." She muttered darkly before she stepped past the gates in the yard. And of course her mate was waiting for her with Tsukiko nestled comfortably in his arms. If she didn't know any better she would guess that this was all so that he could have their pup all to himself... Though as she drew closer she heard Tsukiko's happy squeal and a little clap of her hands. "Well at least I get to enjoy feeding time...not like I get to see her for much else!" She snapped and snatched the cooing pup from his arms.

"Do not be sore love! You need to get back into optimum physical shape for this battle and you know it. The price of not being able to see your pups quite as much should be worth it to protect them yes?" Touga chuckled as he followed her through the halls after dismissing Chikako.

"Says you! You just want to keep her from her mommy! You're so cruel and heartless!"

"No I am not."

"Yes you are! You are always keeping her from me! When she grows up she won't even have any good memories of me because of you!" She snapped her nerves completely frayed from being separated from her pups so often, and for so long.

"Yes she will have fond memories of you, you are her mother."

Before she could whirl around and bite his head off her other headache made itself known in the face of a livid servant dragging a sulking Inuyasha behind her. "Inuyasha what did you do now?" She groaned in defeat when he looked down and muttered something unintelligible. So she turned to the servant instead. "Well?"

"He took paint and painted all over the walls in the main hall!" The servant hissed venomously.

"Inuyasha what are you thinking? You may go now and I will deal with him!" She dismissed the servant with a little more aggression than was strictly necessary before she turned her full attention onto Inuyasha. "Verbal reprimands are not doing anything for us are they Inuyasha?"

"I don't know what that means..." He muttered and kicked at the floor.

"That means that I yell at you and tell you not to do something! Obviously it doesn't work at all!"

"But moooom!" Inuyasha whined and stomped his foot.

"No buts! Now the servants have to peel your paint messes off of the walls! Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass that is?" She snapped angrily handing Tsukiko over to her father when she started to fuss.

"Mooom they deserved it!"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" She bellowed grabbing onto one of his little ears and tugging on it sharply. "If you do something like this again I am not going to bother yelling at you! Next time I will beat your little butt do you hear me?!"

"But moooom!" Inuyasha persisted pouting his lips out at her, and trying to look too cute for her to resist.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!"

His ears flattened to his head and he muttered a quiet. "Yes mama."

She released him and sighed to rid herself of the rest of her anger. "Please be good koinu so that I don't have to get angry at you anymore. I don't like to do it."

"But you only ever pay attention to me when I'm bad anymore! You're always too busy with sister, or some other stuff! You never spend time with me anymore! Neither does Father!" He pouted tears gathering in his eyes.

"Koinu I know that you feel neglected but it's not that we have forgotten about you! I hardly ever see Tsukiko anymore either because of my training, the only reason I do is because I have to feed her. If I could I would spend all of my time with both of you! And soon enough I will be able to spend a lot more time with you! Just be patient baby and wait." She felt bad that she had not interpreted the signs earlier, Inuyasha was crying out for attention because neither of his parents spent time with him. She was too busy training for the fight with Ryuukotsusei, but Touga could devote his spare time to Inuyasha as well! And she was going to have a talk with him about that later! But for now she had a koinu to make feel better, so she pulled him into her arms and hugged him tight. "How about after all of this is done we all go on a little trip."

And just like that Inuyasha's eyes brightened up in excitement, the gold becoming a blazing hue. "Where? Where can we go?"

"Anywhere you want to go!"

"Promise?" He held out his pink for her to take.

She took it and even shook their hands for emphasis. "I promise! Now be good and I will see if papa will play with you later."

"M'kay! I'll go play with Kirara until then!" And just like that he was gone streaking around the corner.

"Poor baby...You could spend more time with him you know!" She stood up and took Tsukiko from her mate giving him a stern look. "She isn't your only pup you know..."

"I know but she is a newborn and she needs the constant presence of at least one of her parents, otherwise she will become distressed. So seeing as how you are unable to be with her all of the time as you were with Inuyasha, I will have to fulfill that role for now. Though I suppose I should bring Inuyasha with me to keep him out of trouble." He mused giving her a little push when the pup started to whine.

"But you train me in the afternoon for a few hours! Who stays with her then?" She shot back as he steered her towards their bedchambers.

"My mother keeps her company while I am gone. Tsukiko recognizes her as blood so she is more at ease with her than she would be with a servant. Though when I arrive to take her back she is always happy to see me."

"Yeah! Yeah! But she probably thinks that she is being neglected by me!"

"No if she did then she would not be so happy to see you all of the time. In fact she is always fussing when you have to leave her, separation anxiety I believe is what you called it."

He pushed her into the bedchambers when they reached them and she instinctively went to the bed and sat down on it, going through the now monotonous routine with ease. "Hmph you had best learn to share when the battle is over with! Otherwise I will purify your male parts!"

"Of course you will." Though he did not look like he believed that for a second. He took up station near the futon and watched her go through the motions.

Of course she had to get the last word in. "I mean it!"

* * *

He was not amused at all when she brought Tsukiko into the room after her bath. And his pup was wearing the infernal puppy pajamas that had been Inuyasha's as a pup. He had leveled his mate with an intense stare and bristled when she giggled at him.

"Can you believe that I had forgotten that I put these away?" She smiled smugly and laid Tsukiko down in her crib near their futon.

Well he could believe it, and he did believe it! His mate was absolutely devious and at times he loved it about her, and at other times he hated her cunning behavior. When his Mother had arrived to watch her for their afternoon training she had taken one look at him, and then walked over to the crib and had promptly burst out laughing before hugging Kagome and congratulating her. Needless to say he had not been amused in the least. So he decided to put her through the ringer on the training field today as a punishment. Though with her good mood it was hard to piss her off, or make her miserable. She just dodged or blocked every strike she could, a large smile on her face that had him bristling with irritation. Though he had to admit that he was pleased with her endurance after only starting her training two weeks ago, she was almost back to where she used to be. Now if only she did not have to be so infuriating with her insistence on having his pups wear those infernal pajamas...

"What's wrong Touga? Still made about the Inu-papa-puppy-pajamas?" She giggled using the name that Inuyasha had given the pajamas when he was a small tot. She blocked one of his strikes that smile still plastered on her face.

"Do not call those accursed garments that! As soon as I can I am going to destroy the blasted things once and for all!" He snapped using his body weight to push her back.

She skidded across the dirt and fell into a crouch smirking the whole time. "But Inuyasha loves those pajamas! And Tsukiko does too! Would you really take their favorite nighties away because they have inu papa puppies on them?"

"Kagome...you try my patience love." He growled dangerously as they started circling each other.

"Touga you've been trying my patience love..." She sing songed before lunging at him swinging her sword down in a sharp arc.

He blocked it with ease. "No I have been ensuring your survival..."

"Pfft! Yeah if prying me out of my babies lives, and driving me insane count as ensuring survival."

Arguing with her got him nowhere so he refused to answer her claims. Instead he focused on pushing her to her limits in their spar, though he had the distinct feeling that he had somehow lost already.

* * *

Today was the day...the day that they were going to hunt down Ryuukotsusei. They would be leaving Inuyasha, and Tsukiko in the care of their grandmother, and she could be trusted to keep them safe. Though this could be a permanent separation if she did not play her cards right. And as she kissed Tsukiko's forehead, and bent down to hug Inuyasha she let the severity of the situation really hit her. She could die. Touga could die. And then their pups would be left in their grandmother's care in their stead. And though she did not plan on dying she took solace in the fact that they would be well cared for should anything happen to them. "We'll be back as soon as we can koinu. Take good care of your little sister okay? You're her fearless protector until we come back."

"M'kay mama I'll keep her safe! Promise!" Inuyasha sniffled and puffed out his chest bravely, though his lip was still quivering. "Just come back after you kick the Dragon's ass."

"Language Inuyasha." Touga chastised him even as he moved to hug him as well. He pulled back and nuzzled Inuyasha's cheek before he moved to nuzzle Tsukiko's cheek, leaving a kiss on the soft flesh before he pulled back completely. He joined her at the gate and with one last look at their pups they turned and headed off towards their next challenge.

They would succeed... She would make sure of it.

* * *

Cliffy! Anyways R&R!


	17. Chapter 17

So what did you guys think about making a sequel about Tsukiko? I wanted to make it sort of angsty but I'm not sure! I think I might make all of the Kikyo stuff happen in that story as well, as well as Tsukiko finding her own mate! I want him to be an inu daiyoukai with a very similar appearance to Touga, but I want him to have two red crests that rest a little higher on his cheeks that curve down a bit. I also want to name him Mattaki cause I really like that name! Anyways let me know in your reviews! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA! Yaya a hundred reviews and a lemon!

* * *

It turns out that finding Ryuukotsusei was harder than she had anticipated. He was a powerful dai so he could mask his aura, and scent from most people. Though she was sure that if they were close enough she could sense it. The problem with that is that they had no idea where to look! And if she was being honest she was becoming increasingly frustrated with their lack of progress! She wanted to go home and really spend time with Tsukiko, and Inuyasha who she had promised a fun trip for!

"Touga where do you think we should look? We haven't even had one single lead as to where he might be..." Kagome sighed from where she was walking beside him. She shifted her bow to lay more comfortably on her shoulder, and checked her hidden blades one more time just to distract herself from her irritation.

"We will find him love just be patient." Bright golden eyes glanced down at her exasperated even as he shifted and gave her a quick nuzzle to the fringe of her hair.

Blushing she swatted at him and pouted at the lack of a real answer. "Says you! Watch we'll still be looking for him in a couple weeks at this pace! I better at least get some good romping done in the forest at night to make up for the fact that I've been separated from my babies for so long!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she squeaked and clamped it shut in embarrassment.

'I can't believe I just said that!' She moaned internally.

"I believe that I am more than willing to accommodate that love..." Touga leered at her and suretipously grabbed a hold of her ass.

"Lecher!" She squealed and swatted at his hands.

'Ohmygosh let's just stop and make camp now so that we can jump his ass!' Her mind screamed aninamlistically.

But she refused to stop just to sate her overactive sex drive! Sure she had been cleared for sex before she left, and sure she had not yet partaken in it, and yes she did want to jump him like crazy! But no she was not going to delay their journey for a booty call! So she squared her shoulders and pushed his hands away to respectable distances. "No Touga! No trying to entice Kagome into stopping for a booty call!"

"Booty call...?" He echoed cocking his stopping in his tracks and cocking his head to the side. "What is a booty call?"

She blushed and smacked her forehead in exasperation at her own stupidity. Give an inu a puzzle and his curiosity supersedes everything else. "A booty call is a term that was used in my time!" She started with a terrible flush rising even higher on her cheeks. "It's a term that men use in regards to women...It means that they want to stop and partake only in sexual activities, and then run off as quickly as they can. It's pretty much means that they use the female for sex and then they're done with her."

Touga looked absolutely disgusted at the reference. "Males use their females like that in your original time? How could anyone disrespect a female like that? I was never even so cruel to my concubines when I had them in my youth."

She bristled at the mention of concubines but pushed it away for later. "Yeah well most people don't respect anyone else in my world." She muttered turning on her heel and stomping off down the road. Of course he was experienced, much more so than her but it still bothered her to know that he was her first, and she was not his. And just thinking about concubines made her think about Izayoi. Would he have wanted to make her one of his concubines in his youth? The Hime certainly was more beautiful than she was... Why did she always get herself into these kinds of situations? At least he had come for her, and had cemented the fact that he only wanted her in her head after her moment of insanity when she had fled from him. Yes that is what she was calling it because there was no other way to describe what she had done. She had not even given him the chance to explain, had simply expected him to be just like the Inuyasha she had known. But he wasn't, and she had been the fool to even think that he would betray her in any way.

"Your thoughts are disturbed love. What ails you?" He made pace so that he was walking back alongside her again, much closer than just a casual traveling companion.

"Nothing." She answered hoping that he would in fact leave it at that. But when he stopped and grabbed a hold of her before dragging her over to a fallen log by the side of the road she knew that he was not taking her answer for anything.

He sat her down on the mossy log and plopped down cross legged on the log next to her. "Speak of what is on your mind so that we may continue our journey. I will not have you disturbed when we face the dragon. Speak." He spoke in a tone full of authority.

"It was nothing to get so upset about! I was just a little jealous about the fact that you had concubines that's all! Now can we get going again? Because in case you haven't noticed we have a newborn pup at home that needs us!" She hissed and moved to stand to her feet only to be yanked back down.

"You just lied to me." He growled his nose twitching at the tangy scent of her dishonesty.

"No I didn't! I just didn't tell you the whole truth!" She corrected like a know it all.

"Tell me what troubles you and then we can go."

She opened her mouth to tell him to shove it but thought better of it. With a sigh her shoulders slumped and she looked down at the dirt. "I was thinking about my actions at the House of Setsuna...The way that I didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself before I ran off. I should have done things differently that day, but I just saw you and I thought that you were no different than him." A short hollow chuckles escaped from her lips, and she could literally feel the light of her soul darkening. "But Inuyasha doesn't exist like that anymore...he's my son now and I don't even think of him remotely the same anymore. So to keep comparing anyone to who he used to be, or who he was supposed to be, but will never become is just silly isn't it?"

"What would be foolish would be for anyone to expect you to forget that pain, and anguish you experienced in a time that only you remember."

Her head snapped up and her eyes immediately locked with his expressive gold ones. "But none of that will ever happen now! So for me to reflect on those times is-"

"Normal and something that no one can ever fault you for." He cut her off sternly. "I understand the pain that you felt, and I cannot bring myself to blame you for my negligent behavior with the Hime. Gods know that if I had seen you with some Lord, doing something even remotely similar I would have killed him for touching you. So how can I fault you for being upset, so much so that you wanted distance from me? I cannot."

"But I could have gotten myself killed! I made you and Inuyasha suffer because of my departure!" Her protests were weak sounding even to her ears but she couldn't fathom his absolute forgiveness. She, and Tsukiko could have been killed due to her stupidity. Why couldn't he see that?

"I agree that we did suffer, and I am not condoning your actions love. What I am saying is that of all the things you could have done, you did not choose violence. You could have seen the actions as a threat to the bond and attacked the Hime as most youkai females would. But instead you walked away from a possibly violent situation. And even though your actions were not the wisest, this one cannot fault you for your hurt, or for your need to get away from him, even though it did anger me. So please do not keep harboring such torment in your heart, it is not good for you."

Is this what Inuyasha had felt when he had forgiven Kikyo for her actions against him? Did he understand them so completely that he could not hold onto his anger? Was that why he was so torn between them? Because even though she was there for him regardless of what he was, Kikyo was his other half? Was that why he was able to just forgive her without any thought? Yes that must have been why...

She had a sudden need to be close to Touga, to hold him in her arms and she did not resist the urge to throw herself at him and wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left you behind like that! You must have been so worried!"

"I was but that is all over now. Now I have you back where you belong and that is with me. My anger is meaningless, my sorrow nonexistent, my elation all consuming when I have you close like this. How can I ever throw these feelings away to wallow in the darkness, when everything I have ever wanted is right here?"

"I love you, you know that right?" She mumbled into the soft silk of his haori covered neck.

"As I love you." He responded easily with conviction.

Words had never meant more to her in her long life and she clung to them allowing the self hatred she felt towards herself to dissipate. If he loved her, and forgave her then who was she to continue to wallow in the darkness of her own shadowed hate? In a way she felt that he had saved her, and maybe he had.

* * *

Storms had rolled in around dusk, along with high winds and he was taking no chances of his mate becoming sick due to the weather. So he had quickly whisked her into his arms and sought out a suitable cave to deposit her in while he gather necessary items for their stay there. This storm looked to actually be a series of storms spread out across a several day time span, which meant that their travels were going to be stopped altogether until it passed. He would not take the chance of her getting the coughing sickness, or a cold as she had called it.

Thankfully wood was always easy enough to find, and clean water could be found only a small ways from the cave mouth in the form of a small river. That meant that he would not have to go far for food either which sat well with him, unless his mate was feeling finicky and decided that she did not want fish. If she did that he was going to give her a spanking for being difficult.

He had to haul large armfuls of firewood back to the cave, repeating the process until he was confident that they had enough to outlast the storms, and once that was done he quickly moved to fill up all of their canteens, as well as catch several large fish for dinner. Once that was all done he returned to the cave where Kagome was laying on top of mokomoko patiently awaiting his return.

"Did you get everything?"

He ignored the pout she was giving him and sat down the supplies he had gathered near the far wall. "Yes I did get everything we need."

"Is there a reason that I couldn't help?" She persisted sitting up and giving him a wide eyed look.

"Because it is freezing out there for ningens. Fall is already upon us and the nights are cold enough as it is, and I will not allow you to become ill." He moved to start skewering the fish that he had caught before placing them over the good sized fire she had made.

"I used to camp outside on the ground with Inuyasha, and the others in the winter you know. We used to all huddle next to Kirara, well except for inu who always muttered about weak ningens, and kitsune. The I would osuwari him out of the tree he was in! That always made me feel better!" She giggled probably at the visual of Inuyasha five feet down in the snow courtesy of her subjugation.

Though it did sound funny even to him and he could not resist chuckling a little at the thought, only he replaced it with Sesshomaru's frigid ass, though knowing his son he would like it. He always did have a thing for, as Kagome would call it, S&M. Not that he really truly understood what that mean, just that it meant violent sex. "Perhaps Inuyasha does not need those beads, but Sesshomaru instead?" He turned hopeful eyes on his mate.

She laughed and crawled over to sit in his lap. "Do you really enjoy watching us have it out that much? Because giving Sesshomaru a kotodama will definitely have him at my throat, and in turn it will have me at his throat. Is that really what you want?"

"Hn. No I do not want him anywhere near your throat, that is my place. As well as your ass, and your chest, and your-"

"Ok! Ok! I get it! Every part of my body belongs to you!" She giggled reaching up to stoke the tips of his ears.

"Exactly right! So no one gets to touch you but me!" He growled possessively and nipped at her neck.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Dinner needs to be watched over or it will burn you horndog you! So get to it! Shoo!" And with that she crawled out of his lap and over to his fur before throwing a suggestive look from over her shoulder and laying down.

Little minx thought that he did not catch the overexaggerated swaying of her hips did she? Well he would get her for it later. After dinner...

* * *

Rain pounded down against the rock wall outside and he had to erect a youki barrier to prevent the rushing winds, and rain from entering their shelter. And now that he was certain that no one could creep into the cave, and that his mate would not catch her death from the cold he decided that now was the time to consummate the bond between them again. It had been eight months since he had last had her and he was planning on enjoying her as much as possible while he had the chance.

She was on the verge of sleep so he stripped from his clothing and inched closer to her. "Love you should remove your clothes while you sleep, that way I can share my body heat with you."

"M'kay..." She mumbled sitting up with groggy eyes and shrugging her garbs off quickly and tossing them aside. Once she was done she plopped back down and cuddled into the fur beneath her.

He could not wipe the grin off of his face, when she was sleepy she was so out of it that she did not think things through at all. Well he was going to wake her up real fast that was for sure. He reached for her and placed a hand on the smooth flesh of her thigh kneading it slowly.

"Mmm sopit.." She swatted at his hand irritably.

So he backed off for a second and once she was at the precipice of sleep he reached for her and this time cupped her heat with his large hand.

She shifted and moaned something but did not wake up completely, though she did push herself back into his stationary hand. "Mmm bad inupapa..." She giggled wriggling her bottom back further.

He smirked and moved two of his fingers to rub the sensitive nub of flesh at the top shuddering at the spike in her scent. At the sharp spike he moved his other hand to part her thighs so that he could slip two of his fingers into the tight channel while he used his thumb to massage the nub instead.

"Mmm that's nice..." She gasped sleepily.

"Is it? And how about this?" With the next pass of his fingers he turned his fingers and rubbed the sensitive spot on the top of her channel.

She made a strange moaning sound and giggled. "Naughty Tou nono! Don't do that!" She mumbled and swatted at his hands.

He rolled her onto her back and spread her legs completely so that he could watch his fingers disappear into her body only to reappear covered in her juices. Yet still she did not wake...Well that simply would not do would it? He reached up and swiftly undid the tight chest bindings before following up by kneading the breast softly. He would have much rather sucked on it, but they contained his pup's sustenance and he would not partake in that. So he settled for kneading it while he thrusted his fingers into her in every increasing speeds.

Short gasps, and moans escaped from her parted lips with every thrust of his fingers yet she still did not wake even though her body was subconsciously following the movements of his fingers by arching into him.

"Huh you really were tired were you...Well you can rest after I finish with you." Slinking down her body to the place where her arousal wafted from he stuck his nose right into the crevice and inhaled deeply shuddering at the scent. Gods it had been too long! And with that thought he shoved his tongue into the tight wet channel lapping up at the wetness gathered there, while his tongue explored the smooth flesh reverently.

And of course Kagome chose that moment to shoot up from her resting position. "Tou wha- OH GODS YES!" And she promptly fell back down and forgot to care that he molested her in her sleep. She cried out over and over again as her fingers fisted in his hair and tugged at it in time with the rolling of her hips, drawing out her pleasure.

He growled moved to suckle on the tight bundle instead, moving his fingers to take up a fast rhythm into her tight channel instead. He reveled in the sharp cries, and whimpers that he was causing to escape her mouth. He grazed his fang over the little nub and turned his fingers to hit her in her G spot whatever that was, and her walls instantly clenched around him without warning at all.

Her body arched up off of the fur like a bow as she screamed and tugged viciously at his hair. She stayed like that for several intense seconds before finally flopping back down to the fur in a crumpled mess.

"Good girl...always so responsive." He cooed kissing her weeping flesh affectionately before he moved up her body and positioned himself at her entrance. "You teased me earlier love...I do not think that was such a good idea on your part no?" And with that he rolled his hips into hers seating his length deep inside of her heat. His head fell back and he groaned. "Gods has it been too long..." He rasped out before he started thrusting into her at a moderate pace.

All she could do was nod and agree with him while she clawed at his back. "Ohh faster please!"

He slammed his lips onto hers and pulled her hips up into his hands to spread her even more to his penetrations, speeding up his pace until he was moving at youkai speed. It was almost like he was a young pup experiencing his first rut all over again and he could not control himself from thrusting into her with reckless abandon. Not that she seemed to mind at all, in fact she was screaming and begging for more. All he could do was move faster his hips meeting the backs of her thighs with a loud smack with every thrust he made. She would be bruised in the morning that was for certain. Though he could not stop himself from driving into the tight wet heat with abandon even if he tried, so lost in her that reason was completely gone.

In a frenzy he pulled away from her and flipped her onto her hands and knees before he rolled his hips into hers seating himself back in her heat again and starting back up with his furious thrusting. She was so hot, hotter than he could ever remember her being and he howled in elation at being joined with her again. He layered himself over her back and latched onto her mating mark while he drove her down into the fur beneath them with his vicious thrusting.

Her mouth fell open in a silent scream when his fangs sunk into her mating mark and she collapsed face first into the ground below, being held up only by his length driving into her.

"So tight..." He grunted as his spine tingled and his balls drew up in preparation for his release. He drove harder into her and snaked a hand between their bodies to play with her small nub, he would not release without her.

Her body tightened and quivered when he rolled the nub between his fingers. "Claws..." She gasped out rolling her hips back into him.

He grinned ferally and rolled the tips of his deadly claws over the small fleshy bud splitting the delicate flesh slightly.

Her reaction was instantaneous. She released a shrill wail and clenched around him like a vice drawing him in, as her back arched and she threw her head back.

With a growl he latched onto her neck and thrusted his hips once, twice, three more times before howling out his own release for all to hear. He collapsed to the side and took her down with him, still buried deeply inside of her heat. While she panted to gain her breath he nuzzled her hair and sniffed the sex ladened in her scent. Gods did it smell good to be in her again...

* * *

By the time the two of them could leave the cave she was thoroughly unable to walk thanks to her mate, though he seemed to find it amusing. She was not finding it amusing at all! So much so that she had insisted that he transform and carry her on his back. Not that he protested at all, simply did as she requested. And now she was being carried by a massive 50 foot tall inu...well he seemed like he was more at the 75 foot mark but still... Now was not the time to care about her lack of ability to measure stature.

She sighed from where she was nestled by his massive ear and shifted her position. "You are such a brute you know that?"

He barked out a laugh and wagged his massive tail.

"Oh yeah it's funny to you because you can still walk! Keep it up Tou and I might have to cut you off from sex forever!" She threatened grumpily. He had really put her through the damn ringer, and while she had enjoyed it, she was ningen and she did not have his endurance no matter how much she trained.

He rumbled another laugh at her and his large eyes rolled up to try and look at her.

"Stop laughing at me Touga or else! No more pup! And I will even help Tsukiko find a boyfriend as soon as she is of mating age!" She threatened with a smug smirk as she peeked over the side of his head and met his one visible eye.

He snarled and bared his teeth at her threateningly while he stopped moving altogether.

"Don't you growl at me! You deserve it after fucking me into the ground earlier this morning! Weren't we out here looking for Ryuukotsusei? What part of that entails a three day long fuck fest?" She shot back heatedly only to scream out when his youki swirled around her and she suddenly found herself falling. "TOUGA YOU ASS!" She shrieked all the way down, even after she felt strong arms capture her securely.

"I caught you so you can calm down now." Touga's deep baritone cut her off completely.

She turned and swiftly glared at him for scaring her to death. "What is wrong with you?! I can't fly so that was scary as hell you jerk!"

"Like I would let you be harmed love. Calm yourself and relax so that we may speak in a way that you understand." With that he moved forward with her still held securely in his arms. "Now about this business of Tsukiko mating, it is not happening...Ever!"

"Oh yes it is! What are you going to do when she meets her other half?" She shot back remembering the way he had become so possessive over her in seconds when they had first met.

"I will threaten him with his life should he come near her." He answered as if there was nothing wrong with that at all.

"Oh no you will not Touga! If you even try that I will put a kotodama on you that deflates your arousal every time you get hard!"

He actually paled though he did bare his teeth at her in warning. "Kagome..."

"Touga...you will not interfere in Tsukiko's love life when she is older! I want grandpups from both of them!"

And that set him off even more. "NO SEX! SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE SEX!" He snarled tightening his hold on her in his anger.

"Yeah yeah! Whatever you say my koinu." Not happening even if he fought tooth and nail for it to happen. Tsukiko was going to give her grandpups and that was that! "Look can we save Tsukiko's love life for the way future when she's actually old enough to care about something other than when she's going to be fed, or when her diaper is bothering her?"

"I suppose that is fair enough. Though I meant what I said earlier."

"As did I." She quipped back before she relaxed completely in his hold. "I think I like inupapa form better in terms of being carried, that way I don't have the armor poking me."

"That is not my armor..."

Her eyes widened and she squealed. "LECHER!"

* * *

Haha poor Kagome! Anyways R&R and let me know how you liked it, and how you like the idea for my sequel!


	18. Chapter 18

Okay so a guest said that they did not want Inuyasha to be with Kikyo in their review, but Kikyo is probably going to be trained by Kagome in this story so she will be a bit different. And Inuyasha is going to be with her so I apologize for anyone who does not like the idea! Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Finally! After over a week of traveling they had found a sign of Ryuukotsusei! She wanted to throw her hands to the heavens and cry out in relief that this whole thing would soon be over with! He was close and they would be able to find him soon and while that made her happy, it made Touga conversely unhappy. That was because he felt that she would soon be in danger, and that went directly against his instincts.

"You know that everything is going to be alright Touga, there is no need to be so worried. If Inuyasha and I could defeat him, you and I can as well. You are after all much stronger than your son was." And he was much stronger than the Inuyasha she had known, that much would never be disputed. The two inu brothers in their prime were the only ones that could compete with their sire. It made her wonder how Ryuukotsusei had managed to harm Touga so badly when he had much more youki than the dragon. Though with a dragon's hide that was stronger than steel it made sense.

"We will find the dragon soon and I worry for your safety." He muttered worriedly while one of mokomoko's tails came up to wrap around her shoulders. "When we find him you will stay back as I told you before while I engage the dragon up close."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?"

"In my true form of course." He answered like it was the only choice he had.

"No you will not!" She admonished smacking his arm in a scolding manner. "The reason that Inuyasha was able to defeat Ryuukotsusei was also due to the fact that Inuyasha proved to be a smaller, and much more maneuverable target! So take him in your ningen form, that way we can also combine Tetsusaiga's attacks. Or did you forget about that?"

He glared at her heatedly from the corner of his eyes and tightened mokomoko's hold around her. "Daiyoukai males always do battle in their true forms, it's a testament of strength."

Oh so it was a male thing to be an idiot? Well that she was well aware of, though in this case she was going to shove his pride up his ass. "If you go into battle in your true form instead of using Tetsusaiga like we discussed, then I am going to get as close as I want and fire as many arrows as I want at that damn dragon! And to hell if he sees me and comes after me!" She had barely finished her rant before she found herself laying square on her back with a large male hovering over her.

His teeth were bared and his eyes were completely red, only the gold irises still showing but that could easily change. "Bitch...you will listen to your alpha! You will stay back to a safe distance while we do battle with the dragon! This is about honor and this one cannot change the way battle must be conducted."

She shifted and pushed at him in a futile attempt to get him off of her, reiki could be helpful but she refused to use it on him when the battle with Ryuukotsusei was so close at hand. "You promised! Do your promises to me really mean so little to you? Does your family really mean so little to you that you cannot accept my help, and I mean really accept it? Why did you even bring me with you if you were going to go all alpha male on me and refuse my help at the last second?"

He rumbled deep in his chest and rubbed his body over hers. "I do not question my beast in matters like this love. I planned on challenging Ryuukotsusei in this form so that we could combine our attacks to defeat him, but my beast is adamant that the only way to conduct this battle is to do it one on one, and in our true forms. He has challenged us for our rights to our female and my beast chose this moment to rear his head and demand that we fight as the ancients we are. There is nothing that I can do about it at this point, and for you to attempt to interfere in the actual battle would not wise on your part, he will not take kindly to it at all. So you will stay out of it. Do you understand?"

No she didn't but he didn't have to know that! First thing tonight when he went to sleep she was going to use her reiki to lull him further into unconsciousness, so that she could go after the damn dragon herself! Fuck her promises if he couldn't keep his! First thing she needed to do was call Kirara through their link so that she could get a good head start on him before he woke up. As she sent out a mental call for her neko friend, she met his eyes dead and nodded even though it was a lie. "I understand."

With one affectionate nuzzle to the top of her head he released her and moved off down the path ahead.

Now she realized why he had died in the other timeline...because of his less than intellectual beast... A being who would think that just because they had more youki, meant that they would be victorious. Well she was going to put a stop to that right quick!

* * *

Kirara had finally shown up around midday and she had carried her neko for the remainder of the day, after informing her of her mate's beast actions, and the fact that she was not going to let stubborn male pride get in the way of her family. So she told Kirara through their mental link to get some rest because they would probably be flying all night, and with a small mew the neko had quickly acquiesced and dozed off.

She watched him over the fire as he moved around scent marking the trees before bed. That meant that soon it would be the time to move... 'Kirara we will be moving as soon as he falls asleep so wake up, but still keep your heart rate slow to make him think you're still asleep'

'Kay' Kirara answered back through the link as she shifted discreetly and moved into a more comfortable position.

And she was just in time too because he was making his way over to her while he shed his mokomoko for them to lay on. "Here stand up so that I can prepare the ground for us to sleep on."

She stood and moved to the side, brushing her hand over the exposed flesh of his neck to put the first waves of the spell into effect, before moving away at a leisurely pace. Spells like this had to be done a certain way or else they would backfire, and she didn't want Touga to fall into a coma because of her stupidity so caution was important. And what was more important was making sure that he didn't detect that anything was off, if he did the jig was up and she was screwed.

"Come love lay down so that we may rest."

She snapped out of her reverie when he finished setting up their bedding and held out a hand to her, a lecherous expression on his face despite the fact that tomorrow they would be facing a dragon, well at least in his mind.

"Ok but be a good boy tonight okay?" She plastered on her best innocent look and went to him, sinking down into the furs when he pushed her down. When he started stripping from his robes she panicked. Why wasn't her spell working?

'It takes time to work so use this to your advantage' Kirara answered her through mindlink.

Well damn she had hoped to have the ability to walk back by tomorrow but... He was not going to have any of that idea at all. So she settled down for a rough romp, and hopefully he would pass out right after. She could use this to layer the spell more insistently into his aura without him noticing.

'Now you are getting it' Kirara snickered.

Sometimes she found it odd that Kirara could speak ningen in her head, but maybe it was just her mind interpreting the mental signals that Kirara was sending her, and putting them into words so that she could understand them. But she didn't really have time to concentrate on that because her mate had quickly moved onto her clothes so she used the opportunity to run her hands over his face so that she could add more power to the spell. Please let this work!

* * *

She shrugged her kimono back on and secured it, and her weapons on her person before she chanced a look at her knocked out mate. Her spell had worked and he had promptly passed out after his passion had been fulfilled. So now she was free to gather her belongings and go after Ryuukotsusei by herself. "Kirara are you ready?"

Kirara simply stood and transformed into her true form and awaited her Mistress. 'Ready'

"Good let me leave a special youkai repelling bracelet with him so that no one catches him while he's vulnerable like this." She hurried over to Touga's side and slid the same masking bracelet she had used onto his wrist, only this time she had enchanted it with a powerful barrier to match. It would hide him from sight, smell, and even hearing, as well as erect a barrier should anyone come after him. "There!" She exclaimed quietly and turned to make her way over to her neko companion.

'Uh oh...'

"Kirara?" She froze in mid step when her companion suddenly stiffened and found something over her shoulder much more important. "What are you doing?"

"That is what I would like to know...mate."

"Dammit all to hell!" She cursed and spun to see her mate awake and standing there in all of his nude glory. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?!"

He merely raised an eyebrow at her and stalked towards her with measured meaningful stride. "Because of the spell you tried to cast on me? Well you were almost successful, if it had not been for that moment that you panicked I would not have caught the reiki in my system until it was too late." He was not pleased, his face was set in a hard expression as he closed the distance.

She gulped and scrambled back several steps before she bumped into Kirara. "Do we have any chance of escaping Kirara?"

'No...'

Cursing at her own propensity for useless shows of worry, and emotion she straightened herself and lifted her chin in defiance. "Your promises mean nothing to you so why should I keep honoring mine?!"

That got a puzzled look to cross his face. "When have I ever broken my promises to you? You are the one that seems to have a propensity for breaking them when it suits you."

'He's right...kind of though I don't agree with his actions here' Kirara hesitantly rumbled from behind her.

"Here you broke your promise here! You promised to let me stand with you when it was important and now you're breaking that promise! And that promise was more important to me than any promise!" She shot back infuriated. So he wanted to go all 'I never break my promises, and you do so...' on her did he? Well he could take that and shove it! "The fact of the matter is that your claws can't penetrate Ryuukotsusei's hide sufficiently whether you want to admit it or not! That was one thing that I remember quite well from the other timeline! So you are willingly marching yourself off to your own death because of your stubborn pride when there are other ways to go about this!"

A scowl crossed his lips and his face darkened as he glanced down at the little kotodama she had put on him. "So you think that I am an inept protector for my pack? That is what you are saying is it not?"

"NO! That is not what I said at all!" In a second she crossed the space between them and jabbed a finger in his chest. "STOP PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH! What I meant was that everyone needs help sometimes Touga! Even though you have more youki than Ryuukotsusei, it does not mean that you can defeat him alone! Trust me for one fucking second out here would you?"

"I do trust you. Why would you think that I do not?"

"Because you obviously do not trust in me, or in my skills! If you did you would not have brought me out here, and then decided that you didn't want my help!"

"But I did not do that. My beast did."

"Well then tell your beast to go fuck itself! He is not my boss and neither are you! So if this discussion is finished Kirara and I are going without you because I am not going to allow any male to hold me back ever!" And with that she turned and stalked back over towards Kirara, intent on getting out of here before she bitch slapped the shit out of him. And yes the temptation was definitely there in the form of her rapidly twitching right hand. She barely even moved five feet before a large arm had wrapped around her midsection restricting her movements. "Let me go goddamnit!"

"Calm yourself Kagome so that we may speak like adults."

"Oh I was under the impression that I was still a child...you treat me like one anyways. Even though I was the one that defeat Magatsuhi, who was at the same level as Ryuukotsusei on my own! But I guess it was just a fluke right?" She hissed still fighting against his hold, only to go limp when he growled warningly in her ear.

"I apologize for my earlier inconsideration of your feelings love, my beast had taken control of me. Though I can see his point in wanting you to stay back, and also for wanting to engage in our true form. If we do not then Ryuukotsusei may flee again if given the chance. I believe that he wants to challenge me in our true forms, and unless he gets that he may choose to continue fleeing from battle."

"So engage him in your true form and I'll try and pierce his eyes with my arrows! And if worse comes to worse change back into this form and fire Bakuryuha at his ass! I have your back no matter what happens! And if I can be honest I am going to fight too regardless of what you say!"

"Obviously." He drawled sitting her back down and spinning her around to face him. "I still want you to maintain your distance astride Kirara, just for your own safety. But if you can find an opening take it, that will weaken him at least. But I will still engage in my true form unless I am forced to resort to Tetsusaiga. That is the best that I can offer you right now."

She wanted to argue but a familiar youki aura was heading straight towards a familiar place, the Valley where Inutaisho, and Ryuukotsusei had battled in their past lives. This was the best he could offer her right now because they had no more time to talk about it. "Should I draw my reiki back out of your system before we go? Will it hurt you?"

"No it will not, we are mated after all and our energies draw and feed off of one another. If anything it will aid me, and with the amount that your poured in..." He trailed off as he moved quickly to throw his clothes and armor back on. "I believe that you will help solve one of my main problems in this battle..."

"What do you mean by that?" She questioned curiously. What could she have done?

"Wait and see." Tetsusaiga was fluidly slid into his red, and blue sash and his eyes glazed over with fiery determination.

* * *

(Sorry in advance for the fight scene I'm not good at writing them)

He would not even let her be within Ryuukotsusei's seeing range, instead he had shoved her and Kirara behind him as he stared his enemy down across the massive chasm before them. She shuddered in fear for his safety and clutched at his shoulder. Why hadn't she had Tenseiga made before they came here? She should have thought about it!

"Ryuukotsusei you have threatened my mate and my pups for the last time! Assume your true form and let us decide the tide of this battle this day."

Silence fell over the whole mountain range as every living creature felt the massive youkis clash and bash against each other in preparation for battle. The silence was broken with two massive explosions as the opposing Dai released their true forms and lunged at each other.

The ground shook and shattered and she jumped onto Kirara and steered her to a safer distance while she readied Azusa and notched an arrow on it. All she had to do was weaken him and that would give Touga a better chance. Though with the haze of dancing bodies, swiping claws, and snapping jaws lining up a shot was difficult because she didn't want to hit her mate on accident. "There!" For a split second they disentangled and she took the chance to fire at a break in Ryuukotsusei's scales. Though at the last second he shifted so that the arrow bounced off of her impenetrable defenses. The only way she could hit him was if she could hit his eyes, or the softer flesh of his belly...and he was guarding those weaknesses fiercely.

Touga lunged for Ryuukotsusei's neck with his massive jaws and tore through the first few layers of the steel like skin, enough to draw considerably blood, and cause the massive dragon to cry out in pain. Though that cry was echoed by him when Ryuukotsusei's claws found purchase in his shoulder. They pushed against each other, each massive body trying to find purchase and down the other.

She swiftly notched another arrow while Ryuukotsusei was distracted and aimed for his right eye, at the very least when he tried to dodge it Touga would be able to take him down. With a sharp twanging sound her arrow shot from Azusa and as expected Ryuukotsusei buckled back to avoid it hitting his eye, and in doing so he gave Touga an opportunity to use his momentum to throw the dragon down, where he promptly began to assault the softer flesh of Ryuukotsusei's belly.

Ryuukotsusei's massive reptilian body came up to wrap around Touga to dislodge him and toss him into the rock wall next to them. In a second he righted himself and apparently decided that she was a better target for his frustrations at the moment because he opened his mouth and formed his lightning ball attack before firing it at her.

"Kirara move!" She urged the fire neko wincing when they just barely dodged the massive ball of destruction, and it impacted the mountain behind them and just exploded showering the area in a smoke of debris. She shielded her eyes from the dust and erected a barrier to keep them safe while they were regaining themselves. Roars and snarls could be heard, along with the shattering of earth from massive paws, and felling bodies. But who was winning, and who was on the losing end? When the dust cleared she hurried to take in the situation again.

Touga was forming an attack around his claws similar to Inuyasha's Sankon Tesso, though Touga's attack was much more powerful and it formed around the claws like a youki gauntlet. It was odd to say the least, though still impressive especially when he threw himself at Ryuukotsusei and a pink light mixed with the red as he raked his claws through Ryuukotsusei's hide easily.

"That's what he meant! He's using my energy that still lingers in his system to feed his own attacks!" She smirked at the cleverness of that tactic even as she readied yet another arrow and lined it up on her target. A thrumming from her bow stopped her from releasing. "What? What's happening?" Azusa thrummed and beckoned her with its' energy. It thrummed again almost in an impatient manner and beckoned once more, its' energy reaching out to her and pulling at her own. She was so distracted that she didn't notice Ryuukotsusei was upon her until it was too late.

A massive roar was the only warning she had before he eyes snapped up and locked on Ryuukotsusei's jaws that were feet from her face. Her mouth fell open to scream but her breath had become stuck in her throat. A massive white body shot in front of her and crashed into the dragon knocking him away from her. She sent a thankful prayer to the gods that her mate was always on top of things. Though that elation was short lived when Ryuukotsusei took the opportunity that she had unknowingly provided and latched his jaws around Touga's neck, her mate's youki flowing into the point of impact to try and protect himself.

"TOUGA!" She screamed notching another arrow and lining it up on them, though there was no clear shot for her to take. Tears welled in her eyes. Why hadn't she been paying more attention?

'Kagome why is your name Kagome?' A voice lilted over her as time seemed to slow down around her.

"Huh? Who are you? I don't have time for this! I have to save him!"

'If you cannot answer that question then you will not be able to save him.' The voice persisted with a tone of condescending to it. 'Kagome why are you Kagome?'

Her thoughts seemed to suck her in despite her attempts to stay in the now, and she was pulled back to a memory of her childhood right after Souta had been born and she had asked her mother that same question. "Mama why did you name me Kagome?" The childlike version of herself asked as she rocked Souta.

"Why do you ask Kagome?" Her mother stopped her sewing and turned warm brown eyes on her child self.

"The other kids always surround me and sing 'Kagome Kagome you are a bird trapped in a cage' I don't like it!" Child Kagome pouted.

"I see...I'm sorry Kagome it's just that I saw a light shining in your chest when you were born. It looked like this." She swiped some condensation off of her drinking glass and drew a square, and then another square that was tilted on its axis through the original square. "I saw this light shining in your chest, and these shapes are called Kagomes."

"Hmmm." Child Kagome mused before the memory shifted to another memory. This one was of her playing Kagome Kagome with her friends after school. She always knew who was behind her in that game, and she hated it! Though she never ever knew why! And she scowled as her younger self once again picked the correct person.

"Hide-kun."

"How did you know again?" He pouted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I dunno...I just knew." She snapped irritated that she didn't know the answer herself.

The memories faded and she suddenly found herself back watching her mate in their enemy's jaws, though time still seemed to be slowed down. "My name came from the light my mother saw in my chest..."

'Yes but what does that mean for you? What special power resides in you?' The voice still persisted.

Her name could not come from the jewel anymore, it didn't exist...like it had never even been born in her...So sight was her power? That ability to see through things?

'Try firing at your mate after you combine your power with the Sacred Longbow of Mt. Azusa.'

So she focused on wanting to save him while she channeled her power into the bow. Something unexpected happened, a small shape shining on the fur of her mate's bloodied shoulder. 'A kagome?" She whispered in her mind...'Behind him..." She could see through him to a gaping gash in Ryuukotsusei's stomach. 'That's it! Please Azusa lend me your power so that I can save him!'

The bow thrummed in response with her power and she fired her arrow.

'Please save him!' Her breath caught in her throat as the arrow neared her mate, and he looked up at her with wide eyes, that quickly changed to shock when the arrow passed straight through his shoulder.

It tore through the other side of his body and slammed into Ryuukotsusei's gaping wound blasting him back, and Touga wasted no time in calling his power to his claws and driving them into the arrow's wake.

A massive explosion rocked the area blowing her and Kirara back though her eyes stayed locked on where Touga had been. Worry clouded her mind and clenched her heart. Would he be okay? Did her arrow cause any damage to him at all?

The smoke settled and Touga was standing over Ryuukotsusei's purified remains with a victorious snarl on his face. He was obviously happy to see the end of the accursed dragon and the threat that he posed, and he made it known to everyone by throwing his head back and howling his victory for all to hear. The sound echoed even after his cry ceased and he turned to her and made his way over with labored steps, calling his youki back and shedding his fur in favor of his ningen form.

Kirara sat her down and she twitched with the urge to throw herself at him...only to lose herself and do it anyways when he was close enough. She buried her face in his chest not even caring that she was covering herself in his blood. "I was so worried about you! Why did you throw yourself in front of me like that?"

He rumbled and ran his fingers through her hair while he clutched her tighter with the other hand. "Because your life has more meaning to me than mine."

The fiery part of her wanted to yell at him, tell him that he was an idiot, and cuss him out like he had never been cussed out before...But the loving part of her wanted to hold him and cry that he was safe and still very much alive. So that was what she settled for, and he of course let her.

'Now you know why your name is Kagome' The voice lilted one last time before it faded.

* * *

The trip back to the shiro was filled with much cursing on his part, due to his mate's need to tend to his injuries...not that he did not appreciate her help. He just hated the stinging pain that accompanied her attentions, the initial injuries felt better to him than trying to treat them. So in a way he had made her life difficult because he was always trying to sneak off when she whipped her medical supplies out. That had resulted in her activating another rather humiliating, and unexpected aspect of the kotodama bracelet that she had placed on him. A sit command... Needless to say he was not pleased at being forced onto his bottom whenever she mutter 'osuwari'. That was why he was so damn happy to get back home to his shiro where he could properly recover, without the threat of rogue youki attacking him, or his mate.

He sped up his steps towards the gates and within moments his mother was there with Inuyasha, and Tsukiko, the latter of which was crying her little head off. Kagome shot by him and scooped up Inuyasha, before retrieving Tsukiko from his mother's arms instantly quieting the little pup's cries.

"How did it go koinu?" His mother asked as she made her way over to him.

"It was a close one Mother, but with Kagome at my side we were able to defeat Ryuukotsusei." His eyes were trained closely on his mate as he followed in her tracks. She seemed so happy, happier than she had ever been...Had she really been so worried about Ryuukotsusei? Sure he had been but he was a male, and even he had a propensity for thinking that he was invincible...Females apparently did not suffer from this 'issue'.

"Then you are fortunate that you had he, as am I...I would have hated to lose my little koinu."

He turned to his mother and smiled at her softly. "It is good to be back mother."

"It is good to have you back koinu." She cooed yanking him down by his ear to nuzzle his cheek. She released him and pushed him towards where Kagome had settled in the gardens. "Go on your pups have been terribly lonely without you two."

"Hai mother." He laughed and briskly made his way over to where Kagome was sitting with Tsukiko in her lap. Inuyasha intercepted him about halfway by leaping at him and clutching at his legs in a death grip.

"Father Sis and I thought that you guys were never gonna come home! You were gone forever!" Inuyasha pouted while he used his father's clothes to climb his way up Touga's body.

"My apologies Inuyasha, but your mother and I were most busy." He chuckled while he nuzzled Inuyasha's face affectionately. "Were you good for your nana while we were gone?" He resumed walking towards Kagome and plopped down next to her.

"Yeah I was good for her I promise! Though I did play a couple more pranks on Sesshy when he came to visit! It got him ragin pissed I'm tellin you!" Inuyasha smirked mischievously.

"Inuyasha language!" Kagome stopped fussing over Tsukiko to admonish him.

His ears flattened against his head in sadness and he pouted. "Sorry mother...But it was still really funny ya know?"

"I am sure that we can imagine Inuyasha. Now there are more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that I have not yet held my little Hime yet."

Kagome shot him a scathing look and clutched Tsukiko tighter to her chest making the pup giggle. "No! This is the first real chance that I have had to play with her!"

"You can play with her as often as you want after this. You did plan a family trip for Inuyasha no?" He snatched Tsukiko from her arms and cradled her while Inuyasha hopped up and went to go chase a butterfly.

Bright silver eyes stared up at while a little gurgling growl issued from deep in her chest.

"Little Hime...papa missed you." He cooed nuzzling her everywhere he could, which made her squeal in happiness. He purred and felt the rift in him close up at having his pups, and mate safe for the very first time since he had met her. Things were right and that was all that mattered to him for right now.

"Papa don't forget about the trip mama promised!"

And Inuyasha's trip! Oh he could not forget about that lest her earn the anger of his terrible and powerful son...He chuckled at the thought and met Inuyasha's eyes. "I think a family trip is a good idea. As soon as I am healed we will head out."

"Yeah!" Inuyasha cheered and pranced around the yard like the carefree pup he was. So different from the Inuyasha that Kagome had described, and he once again found himself thanking her for her presence in their lives...He owed her more than he could ever express.

"Yes I do owe her don't I...?" He rumbled down at Tsukiko. And he would make it up to her too, this was the least he could do for her.

* * *

R&R and let me know what you all thought! Sorry about the fighting scene I'm not good at them at all! A few more chapters in the story and the I will be working on the sequel! Until next time Ja ne!


	19. Chapter 19

Ok so someone said that they wanted some Sesshomaru interactions so I decided to put him into this chapter so hopefully it works! Sesshomaru is who he is so don't expect warm or loving from him, well for Inuyasha at least...Anyways on with the story! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Their trip had been delayed by several months due to the chaos of Ryuukotsusei's defeat and when it came it actually turned out to be two trips, the first was to Totosai to have swords made for the pups, Sesshomaru included though he wouldn't like his sword at all. And he didn't not that she cared, and Touga most definitely saw the reason for giving such a sword to Sesshomaru. Tenseiga would light the way to his future, and it would teach him compassion which he sorely lacked...

Her eyes swerved to watch Inuyasha prancing up ahead on the path wildly swinging his new untransformed sword, and spewing some nonsense about 'red sword of justice...' She sighed and shook her head feeling sorry for the sword her son would wield. It's name was Shitsukoisaiga, literal meaning was unrelenting crushing fang. It was a surprise that Inuyasha had heard the sword's voice at all after his father had handed the sword to him, but he had much to their shock.

Tsukiko gurgled and she switched her gaze down to their youngest. Touga had a sword made for her as well, using his fang, and her reiki to creat it, that way it would be able to use youki based attacks, and reiki based attacks should she actually have reiki. No one would know its' name until Tsukiko was old enough to hear its' voice, it would speak to no one else not even Totosai. Where Inuyasha's sword looked a lot like Tetsusaiga, Tsukiko's sword was white, from the hilt to the blade, it even had the pur white fur around the guard like Tetsusaiga did, though reiki pulsed through the blade in a more pronounced manner giving it a pink glow. It was beautiful, though she wondered why Touga had it made when he was adamant that his hime would always remain safely at his side, where he could protect her. Would Tsukiko even be able to use the sword? Or was it simply to control her youkai blood? Whatever the case, and whatever his reasons she would make sure her pup knew how to use the weapon.

"Sesshomaru go up ahead and make sure that Inuyasha does not cut himself with Shitsukoisaiga." Touga's deep baritone broke her out of her internal musings while he magically appeared at her side.

Sesshomaru simply spared them a scathing look and stalked off gracefully while he muttered. "Why did this Sesshomaru even bother obeying his Sire's order to come?"

She giggled and watched the proud Dai playing babysitter with Inuyasha, which consisted of Inuyasha doing something stupid, and Sesshomaru glaring at him until Inuyasha wanted to piss his pants. Which reminded her..."Should we have a robe made for Tsukiko?"

Her mate turned his head to meet her gaze in surprise. "Yes that would be a good idea...though I think that blue would look better on my little Hime. When we get back to the shiro I will commission an outfit to be made for her. Anything is better than what she is wearing now..." He sneered down at the red puppy pajamas.

"Awww say papa I look so cute in these though!" She cooed down at Tsukiko who was sitting up and clapping in her arms. She was somewhat mobile now, as in she could crawl, and when she got up to go, she got up and went... She was going to be quick when she got older that was for sure...Hell as it was she would disappear without constant supervision.

"Love I detest those infernal modern garments and they will meet their end at my claws one day. And yes she does look most adorable in them, though my Hime looks beautiful in anything she wears." And just like that she was snatched from her hands by him so that he could coo at her, and fawn over her.

"Jerk..." She muttered darkly.

* * *

They had stopped for a midday break when Tsukiko decided that she was going to somehow give everyone the slip and disappear into the trees. Don't ask how a small pup could crawl out of a clearing containing her parents, and brother, along with one nekomanta...because none of them could tell you! In fact no one had noticed because she had been sleeping, and when she had looked over and seen that her pup was gone she had lost it. "Touga where is Tsukiko?" She asked hysteria leaking into her voice.

His head shot around while he wildly sniffed their surroundings for anything that he could have missed. In a second he was crouched down next to the little bundle of furs that she had been sleeping on. "There are no other scents so she crawled away on her own. She could not have gotten far, Sesshomaru watch Inuyasha."

"Hn."

She barely paid Sesshomaru's response any attention as she streaked out of the clearing after him. How the hell did a six month old pup crawl away from her parents like this? Sure she was mobile, but her father had superhuman senses! How did she just crawl right by all of them?

With every step farther from the camp the worry in both of their stomachs grew exponentially, where the hell could she have gotten to?

"Mumumumumumumumum!"

She almost tripped over her own feet when she heard a happy cooing from somewhere up high? Her eyes trailed up the tree that Touga had moved to stand under, and she nearly had a fucking heart attack! "HOW DID SHE EVEN GET UP THERE?!"

Tsukiko had to be at least three stories high in the damn tree, though there was no fucking way she got up there on her own! And what was worse was that she was laughing, and balancing precariously on a thin tree limb.

Touga formed his youki cloud under him and moved up to the branch she was on and grabbed her, a stricken expression on his face the whole time.

Tsukiko didn't like being taken from her new game at all so she started wailing and holding her hands out for the tree. "Mumumumumumumumumum!" She cried big tears leaking from her eyes.

"No Hime, no tree climbing until you are older." Touga sighed as he sat down on the grass below. Once he was seated he proceeded to give her an intense once over to make sure that she was alright. "She is uninjured. We will have to keep a closer eye on her it seems.""

She held her arms out for her pup, hugging her close to her chest when he handed her over. "You think? How could she have gotten up there? Inuyasha didn't start climbing trees until he was five!"

For that he had no answer for her because he didn't know himself.

* * *

Over the next few days it became increasingly apparent that his Hime was a little escape artist. Everytime one of them turned around she was trying to crawl off somewhere and explore, which was adorable, but still dangerous. Inu pups always found trouble following their noses, curiosity usually meant danger that was a rule. But Tsukiko was too young to understand the seriousness of her little escapades, and that meant that he had to keep a sharp eye trained on her whenever they settled down for the night, or for a rest. He had even taken to wrapping her in mokomoko's tail to make sure that she did not escape at night while they slept. And during their breaks he would hold her, or Kagome would hold her until it was time to move on. Of course she did not take well to being denied her need to explore, but there would be time for that when they returned to the shiro.

"Fuck."

Kagome who had been leaning against his shoulder jolted up at the same time he did and they both stared down at Tsukiko. "Did she just say what I think she said?"

He scowled and turned and glared at his Hime. "Yes she did."

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Tsukiko chanted and clapped her hands in glee.

"Tsukiko no! Don't you use that words it's bad!" Kagome admonished gently taking her from him and bopping her nose softly. "That's not a good word! Don't say it anymore!"

Tsukiko's eyes widened comically and her ears perked up a split second before she opened her mouth and made it worse. "Ass?" It came out more of a question than anything.

"No Hime that is not a word that a lady should use either!"

Kagome shot him a glare and smacked his arm. "HEY! I cuss sometimes you know!"

He hurried to save himself from forced celibacy. "Yes Love but you are sexy when you cuss." His tone turned seductive and he leaned closer to her. "I love it when you speak dirty to me..."

She blushed and stammered something unintelligible while Inuyasha could be heard gagging in the background. "To-Touga cut it out! You are being such a tease right now and I don't appreciate it!"

"You should know me well enough to know that I never tease...Shall I show you how serious I actually am?" He leered down at her suggestively.

"What about Tsukiko?" She shot back trying to dissuade him.

"Fuck." Tsukiko chanted when she heard her name spoken.

"Sesshomaru can watch them until we get back." He muttered distractedly while he grabbed Tsukiko and passed her to Sesshomaru's arms. "Watch them until we return, and I mean really watch them! If anything should happen you are responsible as beta of the pack!" With that he grabbed his mate and dragged her off to sate his desires.

* * *

He scowled at his Sire's retreating back but was broken out of his glare fest by a tiny hand fisting in his hair and tugging on it. His eyes shot down and met the face of his youngest sibling. "Hn. What is it that you want pup?"

"Fuck." She giggled and buried her face into his silver tresses.

Chastising her at this time would be pointless so he simply settled back to watch Inuyasha running around with the neko. "Why did Father ever choose a ningen mate?" He asked aloud.

"Cuz he loves Mother!" Inuyasha stopped playing with Kirara to answer him.

"Hn. Love is such a ningen emotion, youkai should not feel it." He shot back coldly though it seemed not to have any effect on the pup.

"But youkai do feel it, they just probably don't think that ningens feel what they feel. You care for your Mother right?" Inuyasha shot back as he came to sit next to him.

"Hn. Of course I do whelp, she is my Mother the one that gave me life."

"Then you love her! Did she play with you as a pup?" Now Inuyasha was openly curious.

"No she was too busy laying with other males to fill the space in her heart that came with not having a mate." He spoke of her behavior with disgust. Inu females were supposed to be caring, nurturing Mothers, and his had not been even remotely so. In fact she had not taken much of an interest in him until he started to become estranged from his Father. Then she had wanted to play a part in his life, and as a result he had adopted her cold mannerisms, if his Father did not want anything to do with him he would act like his Mother, who he knew his Father disliked. It had been childish, but over time he had simply fell more into these mannerisms, and now they were a part of him.

"But you loved her?" Inuyasha persisted.

"Yes I did."

"And you loved Father?"

"Yes I love and respect Father."

"Then why can't you see why he loves Mother?"

"She's ningen."

"So? She may be ningen but she's warm and loving, not to mention strong! I love my mother!"

"Hn. Good for you." They lapsed back into silence and he reflected on his past. He had always been a lonely child, his Father was too busy for him, and his Mother was cold. Was that why he detested his siblings so? Because they had a stable home with both parents where he had been denied such? Was it because he could not remember his Father ever being as affectionate with him as he was with the hanyou children he had? Was it their blood that truly angered him? He spared a glance down at the pup that was tugging at his hair and giggling. She was beautiful even he had to admit that, and there was a purity to her that most could never possess. So what was it that he found so objectionable about her? Inuyasha was one thing due to his useless pranks, and attitude. But this pup was nothing like that, so why was he so angry?

Perhaps she had sensed him looking at her, but whatever it was she tilted her head back and stared at him with those bright silver eyes that were so rare for inu. In her eyes he could see that she knew more than she should, knew of his internal struggle, of his uncertainty. She simply stared at him with those same soft eyes.

"What is it that you see little one?" He murmured more to himself that to her.

Her ears twitched and she reached her hand out to rest on his cheek over his crests. "Sess." She giggled and gave him a bright smile.

It was a smile that he could not resist returning, though his was more a quirking of the lips than anything. Apparently she had found something that she liked, and in a way that was soothing to his damaged soul. If she could see something through the coldness of his eyes, then there must be something there worth seeing. Something that his parents had missed, or had not cared for. But this little pup that he had never given the time of day had seen something warm, something that had inspired warmth from him. Something that he had not thought that he was capable of. Maybe she was not so bad after all... He broke their contact and looked to Inuyasha...Maybe the pup was not so bad after all either, he did put up with his frigid attitude after all. Perhaps he could be more open to interaction with them.

* * *

It was while they were stopped at a small secluded beach that she and Touga got their biggest surprise for the entire leg of the journey.

"Kagome could I perhaps hold my sister?" Sesshomaru had asked after Inuyasha had taken off to go play in the small waves of the surf.

Her eyes had bugged out of her head and she had swiftly looked to Touga for confirmation that he had heard as well. He looked equally as stunned as her though he nodded his acceptance to her. So she hesitantly handed a gurgling Tsukiko over to her eldest brother.

"Sess!" She squealed and clapped her hands.

He took such care to adjust her so that she was comfortable in his arms, and he even started purring to her. "This one is not so objectionable as the other whelp." He answered their unspoken question.

"Oh...Well it's nice to see you taking an interest in at least one of them..." Though she wished that he would spend time with Inuyasha too...

"I agree with Kagome my son, it is nice to see you spending time with at least one of your siblings. Though I would prefer it if you would spend time with Inuyasha as well." Touga was not so reserved with his opinions on this topic, that much was made apparent in the tightening of his facial features.

"Yeah Sessh play with me too!" Inuyasha shouted over the crash of the surf.

"You heard him Sesshomaru...get to playing already!" She giggled at the scathing look he sent her, though her laughter died in her throat when he stood and walked towards the water without handing her pup back to her. "HEY WAIT A SECOND!"

"He will not let anything happen to her love, so relax."

She relaxed into his arms when he wrapped them around her from behind and pulled her into his chest. "Fine but if anything happens you are going to be cut off for a month!"

"Hmm I think not but you may threaten me if you wish."

They fell into a comfortable silence as she watched Sesshomaru dangle Tsukiko into the shallow water by holding onto her hands, while Inuyasha pranced around them laughing and splashing water at his brother. Which made Sesshomaru swat him with Mokomoko-sama, which was wet so it made a plopping sound whenever it bounced off of Inuyasha's forehead. That made Inuyasha, and Tsukiko laugh that was not surprising though, what was surprising was the smile she saw on Sesshomaru's face. A little quirking of the lips was all it was, but she still gaped at it like an idiot. "He just..."

"Yes he did...I think our little Hime has the power to change people." Touga rumbled with laughter against her back. "I have never seen my oldest so happy before."

"I'm happy to see him like this though, I hope it gets better from here on out." And she did, Sesshomaru deserved happiness as well.

"Sessh you can't fly over the water that's not fair!" Inuyasha shouted when Sesshomaru flew out of the way of the splash attack that had been sent his way.

"If it is within this one's capabilities it is fair." Sesshomaru answered smugly.

"Nuh uh because I can't fly! So get down here and face me like a man!"

"But you are merely a whelp and that is no contest for this one." A smug smirk crossed Sesshomaru's face as he hovered around Inuyasha and continually smacked Inuyasha in the face with Mokomoko-sama.

"STOP IT YOU ASS!" Inuyasha screamed while he grabbed his still sheathed sword and started swinging it like a bat at his brother.

"INUYASHA LANGUAGE!" She yelled at him.

"But mooooom! He's cheating! And he's teaching Tsukiko how to cheat too!" Inuyasha protested pitifully.

"Tsukiko can't cheat Inuyasha she's just a baby!" She giggled at the heartbroken expression on her son's face. He looked like someone had killed his puppy.

"NOT FAIR! I wanna fly too!"

"Hn. Fine stop that incessant crying and I will take you." Sesshomaru rolled his eyes at Inuyasha and sat Tsukiko down on the sand near her parents, before he grabbed Inuyasha up and took off into the sky.

"Huh well that's cute..."

"Yes I suppose it is." Her mate agreed while he moved her slightly to the side so that he could see their pup playing in the sand.

Well if you could call sitting there staring into the sky playing in the sand... She just sat there doing nothing for several moments until Sesshomaru flew back into sight with Inuyasha's squealing form. And then the most amazing thing happened. Tsukiko's form pulsed with energy drawing everyone's attention to her, and much to everyone's shock she levitated into the air.

"Touga she's flying what the hell?" She jumped to her feet and dashed over to where Tsukiko was levitating in the air, far above her head.

In a second Touga was beside her staring up in awe. "That explains how she got into the tree does it not?"

"Hey how come sis can fly and I can't! That's bullshit!"

"Inuyasha language! If I have to tell you one more time I am going to kick your butt!" She admonished him though her eyes never left her still levitating pup. "Are hanyou supposed to be able to do this?"

"No I have never heard of it happening before." Touga answered her as he gently lifted off of the ground and flew up into the air to grab Tsukiko when she started to tire.

Great so now they had to worry about her flying away...It was bad enough when they were worried about her having an aptitude for climbing so young, but pffft! Forget about climbing! She'd just be like hey gravity fuck yourself, and then she'd fly wherever she wanted to! So now they had to worry about her curiosity, and her ability to fly! Put the two together and it could only mean trouble! Now what were they going to do with her?

* * *

As it turns out now Touga, and Sesshomaru were even more smitten with her..Yes Sesshomaru! He had taken to fawning over Tsukiko whenever he had the chance, well his own version of fawning which consisted of him holding her and smirking at her. Apparently she had earned his respect because she had the ability to fly which supposedly was a rare trait even among inu...Could've fooled her! That left her to deal with a pouting Inuyasha who was constantly whining about the fact that everyone got cool powers but him. At least they were going back home after their journey of self discovery, at least that's what it was for Sesshomaru. For her it was just one big stress filled trip from hell! In the last few days Tsukiko had tried to fly away more times than she could count, and every time it gave her a fucking heart attack. Thankfully it would take time for her to really build up enough energy to fly like her Father, and brother. Apparently hovering was about as far as she would be able to take it for at least a few years to come. That thought was probably supposed to reassure her that Tsukiko would be okay, but in fact it only made it worse because in a few years she's be streaking through the sky like fucking superman or something!

"Love relax! Tsukiko will not be in any danger I promise you this. I am more than able to care for her, and see to her youki abilities." Touga stepped back to walk next to her from where he had been walking next to Sesshomaru, who had taken Tsukiko again.

"Oh really? Well in case you forgot I can't fly! So that means that if she suddenly decides that she wants to go for a flight to gods know where, I can't catch her! Or did you conveniently forget about all of that?" She snapped irritation having built up too far for her to control it.

"Love my mother, Sesshomaru, or myself will be more than able to catch up to her should she decide to fly off somewhere. Trust me."

"Ok well then you can tell her when she gets older that she's not allowed to fly off unless one of you three are there! That way she can be mad at you and not me!"

"Why would she be angry that we want to keep her safe? She will understand, and obey me as she grows. You worry for nothing love." He waved her worries off as insignificant.

Obviously he didn't realize that Tsukiko was more like her than him, and that meant that she was going to have an attitude, and a defiant streak from hell. She would bet that Tsukiko would go off and do exactly the opposite of what anyone told her, just to prove that she could. Yes he was going to have his hands full with her when she got older.

* * *

"What was that about her being a good obedient pup?"

He scowled at his mate and beckoned Tsukiko down from where she was flying around in circles in the sky. "Hime come down please before you hurt yourself."

"No daddy I can fly! Look! Look!" Tsukiko squealed and dove towards the ground like a jet, only to veer up at the last second and shoot back into the sky.

"Yes I can see Hime but it is almost time for your lessons." He tried reasoning with her, she was a smart pup after all as she had already proven. She was five years old and she had already learned the basics of reading, and youki manipulation, not that he was ever going to let her test her abilities out on an actual opponent.

"NO LESSON! I WANNA FLY WITH SHOMEISUSAIGA!" She argued drawing her sword from her gold sash and waving it around mid flight.

"No it is time for your lesson! Do not make me come up there and get you down!" He threatened crossing his arms across his chest, and gathering his youki to prepare for take off.

Tsukiko stopped her flight and just hovered there Shomeisusaiga clutched loosely in her hand. Obviously she knew that the threat was very real because she sulked and lowered herself to the ground. "Mean..." She muttered while she sheathed her sword.

"No it is not mean, you simply need to listen to instructions pup." He held out a hand for her and swung her up into his arms when she took it.

"Keh! I don't wanna do sums! I wanna fly with Sesshy!"

"No it is time to do your sums!" He corrected turning on his heel and carrying her towards the shiro. "So when did your sword speak to you for the first time?" This was the first time he had heard of it.

"Hmmm I don't remember... But her name is pretty yeah? It means illuminating crushing fang!" She gushed excitedly.

"A fitting name don't you think Kagome?" He turned to his mate who was trailing along after them.

"Yes I do think it fits." She agreed with an amused smile on her face.

"Tsukiko stop trying to get out of doing your lessons..." He admonished when he caught her gesturing for her mother to save her. Maybe he should have listened to Kagome when she told him that Tsukiko would be a handful...

"But daddy...I wanna play! Why do I have to learn sums anyways?" His pup whined pitifully, which made her sound a lot like Inuyasha in that moment.

"Because education is important! As an heir to the West you must be educated to match your station."

"But I am educated! I know how to read and write! Most ningens don't know how to do any of that!" Tsukiko argued back while she tugged on the pointed end of his ear.

His fangs quickly found purchase on her little furry ear and tugged on it making her giggle. "Hime you really are too much like your mother..."

"Hey! What's wrong with being like me?" Kagome hissed grabbing a hold of his pony tail and tugging him to a stop.

"Nothing love...I love you for it, and I love her more for being like you." He placated her as he turned to face her, leaning down to give her a kiss.

Tsukiko took that as her que to make her escape while he was distracted, she slipped between his arm and chest and took off running as soon as her feet hit the floor.

He sighed against his mate's lips and pulled away to lean his forehead against hers. "You were right love...she is turning out to be quite the handful, I almost wish she was a newborn again."

"I told you so..." Kagome sing songed before she pecked him on the lips once more and turned and sauntered off.

That left him to sit there and curse his mate for always being right, before he turned and went to retrieve his troublesome Hime. He could only hope that she got better and not worse as time went on.

* * *

Haha a little time skip at the end! Should I leave Hyoga and Menomaru for the second part, or should I stick to closer to canon and do it in this part? Hyoga could have already been defeated, and Menomaru could be sealed...Let me know in your reviews!


	20. Chapter 20

So this story is coming to an end, and the sequel will be coming soon enough. Ok so I am going to make it so that Touga already defeated Hyoga, and sealed Menomaru before he met Kagome, and Menomaru will be dealt with in part 2! The panther devas will be dealt with in that part as well so be patient! ANYWAYS ON WITH THE STORY! I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

* * *

Touga was completely on edge when he sensed his father approaching his shiro. He had not seen the male ever since his annual visit that was solely for politics. And Takeshi had never made it a point to come and visit his other grandpups because they were hanyou. So he had no reason to believe that he came with good intentions as he never had before.

A ball of light energy shot down from the sky and landed before him before it dispersed to reveal his father donned in his armor, and white silk haori, and hakamas. "Son."

"Father." He greeted back curtly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" His tone was tight and clipped due to the simmering irritation and distrust. Whatever the other male was here for was not good, he was sure of it.

"We have important matters to discuss. Come." With that his father swept by him into the shiro without even waiting for him.

"Somehow I know that I do not want to hear what you wish to discuss." He muttered darkly as he stalked off after his father.

Takeshi bypassed all of the sitting rooms and led him instead to the counsel room, where his council was already gathered.

Now he was even more on edge as he had not called for a council meeting today. Even so he moved to the head of the room and took his seat on the raised platform in the middle, next to his father. "What did you call this meeting for father?"

Takeshi gave him an odd yet still threatening look before he turned to the others gathered and began speaking. "For those of you who do not know, relations between the silver inus of the house of the moon, and the silver inus of the house of the sun have not been good in recent centuries."

His brows rose into his bangs in surprise. He had trained a pup from the house of the sun, and Mattaki had proven to be a powerful warrior, and an even more powerful ally! Sure relations were not good with his father, but when Mattaki took over things would be much better! "Father the heir to the house of the sun was my student during his youth, and he will remain an ally I assure you. What reason is there for bringing up this nonsense?"

His father looked down his nose at him and snorted. "It matters because the Lord of the House of the Sun approached me with an interesting offer..." A wicked smirk crossed his lips which made everyone sans Touga shiver.

"An offer...? An offer for what?" He asked in confusion. What could they possibly want from his father? What promise could his father have made, a promise that he was honor bound to fulfill if it was in his power. "What does Seniji want?"

"Simple he wants to ensure that his bloodline remains pure by bringing in an inu female for his oldest son." His smirk widened if that was even possible, as a sharp snarling rang out throughout the room.

"You did not!" He snarled, his body shaking like a leaf from the now raging anger coursing through him.

"I did. I promised to marry Tsukiko into the clan when she reached 150 years of age. Even though she is a hanyou he was most pleased that his son would be able to have at least one pure blooded inu pup."

The room fell into a startled silence as Touga took that in, and when he did all hell broke loose. With a massive explosion of youki he lunged for his father's throat.

* * *

Bright silver eyes followed the trail of her nekomanta companion through the grass as she stalked along after her with careful movements.

A creamy white tail twitched above the grass drawing the predator's eyes to it, and with an exaggerated pause the predator lunged for her prey.

They took off in a dance of flashing bodies, and swaying grass where she was always one step behind her target. Though the game was interrupted just short of her catching Kirara when she felt her father's youki fluctuate wildly, and the sounds of his snarls crashed into his ears.

"What's wrong with daddy? Come on Kirara!" Tsukiko swept the little neko up in her arms before she took off through the air towards the shiro. Flight was always so fun to her and normally she would really take the time to enjoy it but not now. Her papa was distressed and she had to see what she could do to help him.

She shot down into the courtyard and took off into the shiro halls towards where she could hear the sounds of a rather vicious fight. It was coming from the council room and she was quick to slam the shoji open. "Daddy what are you doing?! Why are you hurting him?"

Everything in the room stopped all at once when she made herself known, even her father stopped tearing into the other male's hide to look at her. "Tsukiko you need to go and find your mother." Was all he said to her, an odd hint of anger, and sadness to his voice.

"No! Not until you stop!" She hurried through the youkai gathered in the room and came up to his side. "Why are you so mad? And who is that anyways?" She had just realized that there was a resemblance between the two males, though she had never seen the other male before.

Her father didn't answer her right away, instead he stood and grabbed her from the floor before turning to his council. "Have someone clean up the mess and escort him from the grounds." And with that he walked off without waiting for another word from anyone.

"Daddy? Why were you so mad? Where is mommy and Yash? Why weren't they there to stop the fight?"

"Your mother was out training with Chikako, and Inuyasha remember?" That strange tone was still in his voice even though he was not fighting anymore.

"Are you sad? Are you sad that you got into a fight with that man? Who is he anyways?" She looked around and took in their surroundings before she realized that he was taking her back to her room.

"He was my father."

She spun back around at the sound of his voice and her ears perked up. "Grandpa?"

"No he is not your grandfather, nor is he my father any longer."

She flinched at the cutting tone, and the absolute anger melded with it. "But he will always be your papa even if you're mad at him. You'll always be my papa even if I get mad at you sometimes."

That got him to drop his anger, at least somewhat, and he gave her a tiny smile. "I know, and for that I am grateful. If I lost my little Hime I would not know what to do with myself."

"You've got mama!"

"Yes I do and without her I would not be able to exist at all." He chuckled as he reached her door and slid it open before stepping inside.

"Why do I have to go to my room? Mama said she wanted to practice today."

"Ahh yes I had forgotten that she was teaching you marksmanship, and swordplay." He sat down on the futon with her still in his lap.

"Yeah she's teaching me cuz you won't!" She turned her head and scowled at him. "One of these days I'll be all on my own and you won't be able to protect me! Then I'll be in big trouble cuz my daddy didn't teach me how to protect myself! All you taught me how to do was fly!"

"You will always be protected I swear it."

"But I wanna protect myself!" And she did, she wanted to be strong just like her mother was! But how could she do that if her father limited her training so much? He was always getting after her mother for training her too much, and he would always say that his little Hime was safe with him. Well she wanted to make sure that other people were safe, not act the part of the damsel in distress. But no matter how many times she told him that, he wouldn't relent at all from his stand on her training.

"The alpha protects the pack, pups especially. That makes the business of protecting you mine, and your brother's responsibility."

She pouted and shrugged out of his hold to walk over to her weapons. "I'm going to find mama! She actually tries to understand how I feel unlike you!" She snapped gathering her weapons up and shooting out through the open shoji. Her father was making her so mad that she couldn't even see straight! What was it with males and thinking that females were too weak to protect themselves? She was almost six years old, she was a good marksman, and she was picking up swordplay quick! Her reiki had yet to activate but that was something that wasn't even a sure thing!

"They'll never even give me a chance because I'm a girl! I hate it!"

* * *

Today had been a stressful day for her due to her mate's attack on his father, and the fact that he didn't want any company right now. She had even left the training session with Inuyasha early so that she could go find him. Only to be turned away at the door to their rooms, but with his behavior, and Tsukiko's attitude today she was not taking no for an answer. So she steeled herself and slid the door open and entered the room. "Touga what is bothering you?" Truthfully she had wanted to run right back to him earlier, but when his aura shifted she had known that he wanted to be alone so she had let him. But now she had to know what had made her mate so upset.

He was sitting on the futon with one leg bent at the knee, and his arm propped up on it, and his face was buried into his forearm. If not for the quivering of his body she would think that he was asleep.

She moved closer and kneeled next to him before she put her hand on his cheek. "Touga what is it? Why are you so upset?"

He didn't say anything for some time, and just when she thought that he wasn't going to he turned his head and met her eyes dead center. "My father arranged a marriage between Tsukiko and an old student of mine named Mattaki."

The blood rushed from her face and she pulled back slightly. "But he can't do that right? I mean you're her father! You have to arrange any marriages for her!"

"Normally yes I would have to, but with relations between the two houses it was a joint decision between all of my relatives. There is little I can do to stop it, short of disowning my kinsman, and that would earn not only their enmity, but the House of the Sun as well. Mattaki will probably not be pleased to be in an arranged marriage but he will do what is expected of him...If only he would challenge his sire and take over the clan, this could be avoided."

"Is he strong enough to defeat his father though?"

"He is on Sesshomaru's level, and Sesshomaru is more than a match for my sire, and Mattaki's sire is at about the same level. So yes he is strong enough to defeat him, but he had no desire to lead at this time." His arms opened up for her and she crawled into them. "I do not want to marry my Hime off like she means nothing..."

"I know...but we will think of something." She whispered uncertainly. "Who knows maybe he will be her other half or something."

"Doubtful but we can hope I suppose."

She turned in his arms and moved to press her lips against his, but he surprised her by leaning away from her touch. "Touga?"

"You are fertile again, and I do not want to tempt fate at this time." He rumbled even as he tightened his arms around her.

"Oh well we did have sex last night, and the night before that, and the night before that so...chances are that I will get pregnant anyways."

He gave her an exasperated look and hugged her tighter to him. "Little minx cannot resist tormenting me..." He mumbled. "At least I feel better having you here with me even if your scent is driving me mad."

"I'm glad to be of service!" She giggled, though deep inside of her she was still torn about Tsukiko's fate. They could cross that bridge when it came to it she supposed.

* * *

As it turns out she was tired of being right because several days later she had woken up to a pissing, and moaning Touga. When she had asked him what was wrong he had said that his essence had impregnated her even though he had resisted her during her fertility. And he had pounced on her before she could even digest what he had told her, muttering about how if she was already pupped there was no reason to hold back anymore. Needless to say things had been different at the shiro lately. Tsukiko was starting to show her reiki power, and she was always training with her brothers. Touga was not pleased about his Hime's behavior, but he was just a typical overprotective daddy. And now he was even worse because she was two months pupped, and she was starting to show. Even so she had still been trying to help Tsukiko with her powers, much to his displeasure. Or maybe he was most displeased that Tsukiko was pulling away from him, even Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha did not know what was going on with her. Masami had even commented on it after their Hime had been particularly vicious in an afternoon sparing session. Tsukiko just said that she was tired of her brothers, and father looking down on her because she was a female, and that was something that neither female could fault her for even though she was only six.

She found herself once again watching Tsukiko training with Sesshomaru, and she looked beyond frustrated. With every strike of Shomeisusaiga, which her father said she was not allowed to transform yet, her anger seemed to grow until she finally held up a hand for him to stop. "If you aren't going to be serious then I'm not going to waste my time." And with that she turned and stalked off into the forest.

"Is father really being so overbearing with that pup that she feels the need to act in such a manner?" Sesshomaru drawled as he sheathed his practice sword.

"Yeah he is bad about not letting her test her abilities, or even letting her train with them. He always comes out here and forces her to go in way before she is ready to stop. No matter how much Mother, and I try to talk him into letting up a little, he won't. It makes her upset that he doesn't trust her at all."

"Hn. I can see her anger is justified then, and I will see if I can talk him into letting her train more with me." He turned and left the yard to go and do just that, and she was left alone.

"Might as well as go after her before she destroys the forest." She muttered and sauntered off into the forest on the path Tsukiko had taken. Thank gods the worst part of pregnancy had not yet come, and she was still able to move without discomfort though she was showing slightly. Touga was so bad about being overbearing that he had even used his youki to force Shomeisusaiga into its' lesser form. That was meant to keep her from wandering off and looking for trouble, but in fact it would simply make her completely defenseless without him. At least for now...

Apparently Tsukiko had gotten farther than she had thought, maybe she had flown off after she had disappeared. Whatever it was she was having no luck in finding her, so she stopped and leaned against a tree for a rest. Her hands came down to cup her stomach. "Don't give mommy as much trouble as your brother, and sister okay?" She was half expecting him to kick, but he wasn't quite developed enough for that yet.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't sense a large youki signature approaching until it was right upon her.

Her head shot up when she heard the snapping of a tree trunk and she spun around to see a large ogre youkai bearing down on her. Her eyes widened in horror and all she could do was watch as his massive hammer swung down at her and connected with her midsection. An excruciating pain tore through her entire body and she released a bloodcurdling scream as she was thrown back. She crashed into the ground and her vision swam as warm liquid pooled between her legs. Darkness overcame her so she didn't see it when her youngest pup stumbled upon them.

* * *

Her mother's horrified scream snapped her out of her thoughts and she jumped down from the tree she was in and took off towards the sound. The scene she stumbled upon made her blood run cold. Her mother was crumpled on the ground with blood coating her body from head to toe, and a large ogre was standing over her with his hammer raised to strike her again. She was moving before she even realized it, and she slammed her small body into the ogre's body full force knocking it off of its' feet. It slammed into the ground and she called her reiki to her claws and slammed them into its' chest cavity.

It released a shrill screeching sound as her reiki rushed through its' body and purified it completely. She didn't even wait to see where the ashes ended up, in a second she was off of him and knelt over her mother's broken body. "Mama?! MAMA?! Wake up!"

A soft whimper escaped from her mother's mouth, before her eyes snapped open and she released another agonized scream.

Her ears slammed down against her head, and she quickly flew into action. She gathered her youki into her feet and formed a cloud similar to her father's before she pulled her mother onto it, and once her mother was secure she turned and flew off towards the shiro. This was all her fault! If only she hadn't wanted some time to herself to deal with her frustrations, her mother would never have followed after her! This never would have happened!

The trees flew by them at a breakneck speed and soon enough they were landing in the shiro courtyard. If she tried to carry her mother in her arms it would jostle her injuries, so she did the only thing she could do. "DADDY HELP!"

The shiro shook with her father's snarl when he caught the scent of her mother's blood, and in a second he was rushing into the courtyard. "Hime what happened?!" He snarled as he gathered Kagome into his arms and took of back into the shiro.

"I don't know! She followed me into the forest for some reason and then I heard her scream! When I got to her there was an ogre youkai that was attacking her so I killed it!" Her mind was racing so fast that she couldn't grasp any one thought. All she knew was that her mother was hurt, and it was all her fault.

"Go and fetch the court healer Tsukiko and send her to my room!" Her father ordered as he took her mother into their shared room.

So she did as he told her and went to fetch Fuuko, all the while she couldn't get over seeing her mother like that. Would she be okay?

* * *

She wasn't...she could hear her mother's cries from outside the room. They had managed to heal her, but the pup had apparently not made it. And now her mother was crying her loss out for everyone to hear, and it was all her fault. She would never forgive herself.

* * *

Over the following weeks she was subdued, never speaking to anyone unless they spoke to her, and avoiding her parents at all costs. She spent all of her time training in the yard, or reading in the library. Her brother's had often come to her to try to get her to go and visit her mother, but she had refused. It was all her fault that her little brother had died, and now her mother could not ever have pups again. She hated herself for it, for acting like a spoiled child and throwing a tantrum. If she had listened to her father this never would have happened...

She was broken out of her reverie when her father entered the yard and came towards her. Her bow fell limp against her side and she bowed her head in shame.

"Hime your mother wants to see you, and you will go. Are we clear?"

She nodded her head and slowly moved by him towards the shiro, every step filled with dread. But her father was following her, making sure that she did as she was told. It hurt that he distrusted her so much...But after what she had done, she could understand it. So she made her way all the way to her parent's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Her mother's soft voice beckoned her.

With exaggerated slow movements she slid the door open and entered the room. Her mother was sitting on the futon staring at her, and she held out her arms for her. But she didn't go to them. "You wanted to see me?"

A look of hurt flashed through those blue eyes, and she dropped her arms to rest limply at her side. She just stared at her daughter with a sad look in her eyes before she spoke. "What happened to me was not your fault Hime. I wanted you to know that."

Her heart fell through her stomach and she fought back tears, she had no right to cry. She nodded her head regardless, and shifted nervously on her feet. "Can I go now?" Anything was better than being here with her mother, who was forever barren because of her actions. Anything was better then having her parent's still looking at her like she was their most precious person. It made her feel sick that they could think of her that way...after all that she had done.

"Can't you look at me?"

Her head snapped up and she met her mother's sad eyes. "I did look at you..."

"No you have done whatever you could to avoid looking at me. Are you really so angry at yourself that you can't stand to look at me?" Her mother's voice was soft and unbearably sad. "I don't want to lose you too."

That did it! She couldn't stand here and listen to this anymore! Spinning on her heel she shot past her father and tore off down the hall as fast as she could. Her mother's words kept ringing through her head over and over again...

'I don't want to lose you too.'

She didn't deserve to have her mother! She had taken away her mother's ability to have pups! She had killed her little brother and they just forgave her for it!

'I don't want to lose you too.'

She vaguely recognized that she had left the shiro when she looked up and saw the green and brown blurs of trees flying by.

'I don't want to lose you too.'

Tears spilled down her cheeks as the words continued to torture her. If only she had listened! If only she had just let her father dictate her life! Her vision was so blurred by her tears that she didn't see someone standing in front of her before she crashed into them. She staggered back and looked up to see her grandfather.

"Is something wrong pup?" He asked in a comforting tone.

Didn't he know? "You don't know?"

"Know what?" He questioned curiously as he knelt in front of her.

"Mother...mother lost the pup. She can't have anymore pups and it's all my fault!" She cried and lunged for him to wrap her arms around his neck. "It's all my fault!" She repeated as the tears streamed more insistently down her cheeks.

"That explains it." He muttered.

"Explains what?" She hiccupped as she pulled back to look up at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Your parents called me here to talk about a possible arranged marriage for you." His eyes softened on her flushed face.

Her heart stopped in her chest. "They want to get rid of me?"

"I would guess so...but you will be going to a good prominent clan little one."

She couldn't hear anything else he said, all she could focus on was the fact that her parents wanted to get rid of her. Could she blame them? "It's all my fault...I should just leave."

"Yes you should." He agreed as he released her. "I can help you escape if you want, as long as you come back to the Western shiro after your 150th years starts."

"Why?" She whispered as her heart broke into little pieces.

"So that I can help you. If I take you there now your father will come for you, so I need them to think that you have died so they do not come looking for you."

Well that made sense..."But how do I keep them from finding me?"

He reached into his haori and pulled out a small beaded kotodama with black beads before he handed it to her. "This will mask your presence from anyone you do not want to find you. I only ask that you do not mask yourself from me."

She took it from him with shaking hands and slid it onto her wrist. "Okay. Should I go back and get anything?"

"No I brought a change of clothes, and some food stores for you." He reached behind him and grabbed a good sized satchel before handing it to her. "There is also some money in here, use it on your ningen nights when you can safely traverse ningen villages."

The smooth cotton sack slid into her hands and she clutched it to her chest. "What about Shomeisusaiga...I can't use it because papa bound it with his youki so that I couldn't use it."

"I can help you with that." His youki built up around his body and shot towards the sword at her hip enveloping it in a bright gold light.

When it receded Shomeisusaiga thrummed happily and she placed her hand on its' hilt. "Thanks grandpa."

"You're welcome pup now you should go before your father comes looking for you." And with that he gathered himself into his light orb and flew off.

She watched him go with sad eyes before she gathered her own energy and took to the skies in the opposite direction. Her new life started today...no father to protect her, no big brothers...no nothing. She deserved it.

* * *

Kagome had been beside herself since Tsukiko had run off, and he was doing his best to comfort her. He understood the guilt that his Hime was feeling, though it was not justified as she had not done anything. The one to blame was the youkai that had attacked a defenseless woman. But she could not seem to understand that. And it was breaking Kagome's heart that their pup...their last pup was feeling this way. He would need to have a talk with her after Kagome settled down. He held Kagome tight against his body and rocked her to soothe her, and it seemed to finally be working.

She sniffled against his chest and clutched at his mokomoko. "I want to see her again."

"Love I do not think that is a good idea."

"Please?" She stared up at him with those heartbroken blue depths.

He could not deny her anything when she looked at him like that. "Chikako!?"

The tora was there in a second at his summons. "Hai Touga-sama?" She bowed at the waist and awaited his orders.

"Go and bring Tsukiko here."

"Hai Touga-sama!" And in a flash of red she was gone.

It was silent for several moments as they awaited the tora's return. Though the silence was short lived as Kagome broke it. "Do you think she will be okay?"

"She is strong like her mother, she will be fine." He stared at her beautiful face for a moment before he lightly pressed his lips against hers. "I love you." He mumbled against her soft flesh.

"I love you too." She whispered after she had pulled back from him. A little bit of light made its' way back into her eyes making her look more like her old self.

The little moment of happiness they had was abruptly brought to an end when Chikako rushed into the room in a near panic, with Inuyasha, and an equally panicked Masami on her heels. "The Hime is gone!"

His heart stuttered and faltered. "What do you mean she is gone?!"

"I do not know...all I know is that she is not in her room, or anywhere else on the shiro grounds." Chikako stuttered out nervously.

Kagome let out another wail of despair, and he turned to comfort her again as her tears started back up with renewed vigor. "Find her! I do not care what it takes! Put all of the shiro guards on it and contact Sesshomaru as well!"

"Hai Touga-sama!" With that Chikako was gone, with Masami hurrying after her.

That left Inuyasha standing there looking as pale as could be. "Where could she have gone to father?"

"I do not know son, but I need to calm your mother for now. I will come and find you soon."

"Okay I'll go help grandma." Inuyasha breathed out shakily before he turned and swept out of the room.

"Why Hime...? Why did you leave? Did you really think that we blamed you?" He whimpered despite himself as his own tears fell. What would he do without both of his girls?

* * *

The year was now 1448 and 140 years had passed since Tsukiko had disappeared, and he had exhausted every resource he had to find her. Kagome had never been the same since Tsukiko had left, and Inuyasha had become distant with everyone but his mother. They were hurting, he knew that as much as he knew his own pain. Which was nearly debilitating as time went on. He missed his little Hime, he missed having his family together. Would he ever find her again?

* * *

Story ends here guys and the sequel should be up by tomorrow at the lastest! R&R!


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